They've Done What?
by dorahatesexploring
Summary: The last generation have grown up, and now their children have arrived at school. All may be peaceful in the Wizarding World, but there's still no lack of drama amongst the Weasley and Potter cousins! Rated M for language and scenes of a sexual nature.
1. Chapter 1

**So here's my new story about the Weasley/Potter cousins at Hogwarts; it's really my method of procrastinating and having some fun. Should run through the years, if you want to see where it runs please click follow!**

 **Chapter One – Settling In**

The chilled night air hit Victoire in the face as she stepped out of the horseless carriage onto Hogwarts' front lawn, the grass made slimy by a recent shower. Her friends, including the new Head Boy Jonny Walker, jumped out behind her one by one, and they joined the stream of students heading up towards the huge double doors, thrown open so golden light spilled out across the lawn from the Entrance Hall.

The noise of chattering and laughter grew steadily louder as they walked up the front steps and across the marble to the Great Hall, which was positively glowing with heat and light. Victoire and Jonny had been one of the last to get a carriage, as they'd had to make sure all the younger students had got themselves off the train and weren't lost, so the Great Hall was almost full. The group split apart to go to the different house tables, Victoire smiling and waving to her friends before following Jonny Walker and Jessica Alcott to the Ravenclaw Table.

As she sat down, she noticed that it was exactly eight hours since she'd said goodbye to her family and Teddy on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. She wondered what he was up to now – eating cheap food in the flat he shared with friends, she imagined. Despite the fact that she was sat in blissful warmth with huge platters and dishes that were about to be filled with delicious food, she couldn't help thinking that she'd much rather be in the grungy, damp flat with Teddy. She imagined them sharing cardboard boxes of Chinese, fighting over who got the last spring roll, and felt something twist in her chest.

They'd been friends for as long as she could remember, sharing the burden of all the many younger cousins, and it was only in the summer that she'd started to feel anything else for him, in the dusky warm days spent in Shell Cottage and the Burrow. And then he'd kissed her, on the blustering cliff tops above Shell Beach, and they'd slipped instantly into a relationship. The last weeks of summer had been blissful, but the Hogwarts letters had arrived all too soon, and even the Head Girl badge that she'd always secretly wanted wasn't much comfort.

She was pleased that Jonny was Head Boy, though. They'd been friends for a while, and he was the sort of steady guy who'd pull his own weight without complaint. The group of new Fifth Year Prefects seemed alright from what she'd seen so far, with her cousin Molly being particularly keen.

Molly was sat over at the Gryffindor Table, only the back of her thick red hair visible as she studiously read a book, at the edge of the group of girls she hung out with in the year. Victoire's younger sister Dominique was also in Fifth Year, but the two girls never voluntarily spent time together as they were as different as cats and cauldrons.

Further down the table to Molly, Dominique was sat in a group that was conceivably responsible for about half the noise in the hall. Every couple of minutes, Molly would send them all a very disapproving look over her wire-rimmed glasses, but they all happily ignored her. As Victoire sat down across the hall, one boy turned a fork into a firecracker and set it off with a surprisingly loud _bang_.

Dominique and Victoire got on surprisingly well for two sisters who at first glance seemed to be polar opposites of each other. Dom was skinny, tomboyish and rebellious, while Victoire was slender, graceful, and in the eyes of all parents and teachers, utterly perfect. Her hair fell in a smooth wave of silver-blonde, while Dominique's was short and messy and the Weasley red. It used to be long and messy, but on her tenth birthday she'd taken a pair of kitchen scissors and hacked it all off, and it had never grown past her chin since.

As the group cheered at the firecracker, Dominique's boyfriend put his arm around her shoulders to pull her closer to him. Jim "Nukes" Noakes was one of the biggest guys in the school, already an easy six foot four and built, in the words of Dom herself, 'like a brick shithouse'. When she wrapped her hands around his bicep, her fingertips didn't touch.

Also on the table was sat two of Dom's younger cousins, James and Fred, with her little brother Louis. Those three, with the others around them, were making most of the rest of the noise in the hall, as they all raucously divulged the adventures of their summers and their escapades on the train.

While sat in the compartment, Fred had noticed that there was a trapdoor in the ceiling, and the three of them had lost no time in getting it open and climbing up, finding themselves sat on the roof of the Hogwarts Express as it flew through the Peak District.

'You're lying,' said one boy, narrowing his eyes at them. 'You can't get onto the roof!'

In reply, James pulled up his sleeve to show the long scrape up his forearm where he'd slipped and grazed it on the rough metal, pointing out the shapes made by the serial numbers stamped into the plates. The boy shut his mouth, unable to come up with a retort.

The group settled down with some muffled laughter as the doors of the Great Hall opened and the Deputy Head Professor Longbottom walked in, followed by a long crocodile of First Years.

They walked right past Victoire, who smiled at them all, especially her cousins Rose and Albus, who were both trying very hard not to trip over their long robes. She noticed one boy, who was blond and even smaller than Albus, walking by himself in the line.

The crocodile reached the end of the hall and formed a loose gaggle, as Longbottom stepped up between the Teachers' Table and the House Tables, set the Sorting Hat upon the wobbly three-legged stool and pulled a scroll of names out of a pocket of his fir-green robes. When he unrolled the scroll, the end trailed around his toes, and Victoire settled into a long Sorting.

There were about a hundred students in each year, although apparently this was less than normal as the generations were still recovering from the Wizarding War. Victoire always wondered what the school had been like before, when the outside walls and passages weren't scarred by the explosions and damage wreaked. Apparently Slytherin House used to be hated by the other three houses, she'd learnt when her aunts and uncles didn't think she was listening, and although she saw the effect she didn't understand it. There were a few bad sorts in Slytherin, but that was the same for all the houses. Mostly they just seemed to be quiet and rather solemn.

As she only knew her cousins in First Year, she didn't really listen to the first half of the alphabet as she had no reason to until "P", although she kept an eye on the number of students going into Ravenclaw. However she did look around and pay attention as Longbottom called out: 'Malfoy, Scorpius', and seemingly the entire hall started whispering to each other.

It was the small boy she'd seen walking alone, who stepped up to the stool with his head bent, keeping his eyes cast on the floor as he sat down and the Sorting Hat was dropped over his head. His pale hands were gripping the edges of the stool as if he was about to fall off it.

Victoire heard someone a few seats away say to their neighbour that this was a certified Slytherin, as every member of the Malfoy family had been sorted into that house since they'd arrived with William the Conqueror. Other whispers around her seemed to confirm this, and say that they wouldn't have long to wait. Malfoys always got sorted within twenty seconds.

Sure enough, eighteen seconds had passed when the brim in the Sorting Hat opened and called out: 'Slytherin!' Victoire felt something almost close to disappointment that tradition hadn't been broken, as Scorpius Malfoy stood up and hurried over to sit down in a free seat at the Slytherin Table, ignored by the other students.

Another five students passed by, and then it was Albus' turn. His name caused a similar stir to Malfoy's, but this time it was an excited buzz, and Victoire heard her cousin James telling the people around him that his little brother was a certified Gryffindor, that all their family was. Jessica bet Jonny that Albus would be sorted faster than Scorpius Malfoy.

But she was proved wrong. Twenty seconds ticked by, then forty, then a minute. Two minutes came, three minutes, and still the Sorting Hat did not announce that the boy was a Gryffindor. Jonny was timing it on his watch, and had reached five minutes and thirty-two seconds when the brim of the hat finally opened, and the hall went suddenly silent to listen.

There was a pause, in which everyone seemed to be holding their breath, and then the Sorting Hat yelled to the silent room: 'Slytherin!'

Almost a thousand people were sat in that hall, but Victoire was sure she could've heard a Knut drop. The Sorting Hat was pulled off Albus' head, but the boy stayed frozen on the stool, needing a nudge from Longbottom to get him moving. As he stood up, Victoire heard a yell from James, something about there being a mistake. There was a pause, and then as Albus turned towards the Slytherin Table it broke into applause and cheering raucous enough to rival the Gryffindors. Victoire felt her heart swell slightly in her chest as her diminutive cousin smiled despite himself, and hurried over to sit down with his new house.

She looked over her shoulder as Longbottom moved on to the next name, and saw Fred and Louis talking in low voices to James, who had gone bright red in the face and was glaring at his goblet. Ignoring her worry, she went back to concentrating on the Sorting.

Rose was a Gryffindor, of course, and for that Victoire was happy, as she felt that another unexpected Sorting would most likely cause her grandparents and several relatives to be hospitalised from shock. It had been bad enough when she was sorted into Ravenclaw, especially with Teddy going into Hufflepuff. Her mother hadn't particularly cared about the Hogwarts Houses, saying often and loudly that she didn't see the point of them, but although her father never said anything to her she was quite sure he only really relaxed about it when Dominique went into Gryffindor.

Roxanne Weasley hadn't taken much interest in the Sorting, preferring to compare her holiday with the one of her best friend Gracie Adams, who had spent three weeks in California. She studiously ignored the antics of her younger brother, Fred, who now that the Sorting had ended was making his spoon hit Louis on the back of the head each time Louis tried to eat a mouthful of food, making James almost fall off the bench from laughter.

She was in her Fourth Year now, and to the vague consternation of her cousins she'd managed to achieve what none of them had since Victoire, in that she did well at school while leading the social scene in her year. Last year, she'd got her hands on a bottle of Salamander Vodka, and had given herself a reputation by drinking sixteen shots in a row, and only collapsing on the seventeenth.

Due to this, she got on very well with her cousin Dominique, and very badly with her cousin Molly. In fact, she and Dom bonded over the fact that Molly was so judgemental of them both, although for differing reasons. Roxanne suspected that Molly was secretly jealous of how naturally Roxanne fitted into the social scene.

'Hey Roxie.' She looked around from comparing tans with Gracie. Robert Wood was leaning across the table to her, a lock of brown hair falling into his eyes. 'Do you think you're going to try for the Quidditch Team this year?'

She played a lot of Quidditch, but it was always casually with her cousins, and she never really wanted to play in the team. Too much mud and sweatiness. Although the blue eyes of Robert Wood did tempt her. She smiled at him, and shook her head.

After the Start-of-Term Feast, Jonny and Victoire left the Prefects to get the First Years up to the Ravenclaw Tower and hurried up there themselves, eager to see their new accommodation. Head Boys and Girls had the privilege of getting their own rooms, complete with a double bed and en-suite bathroom. Victoire had peeked into Teddy's when he was Head Boy, and although every surface had been covered in clothes in his, it had been very nice.

The best part was the fact that there was a fireplace. Hogwarts fireplaces were connected to the Floo network, something which only Prefects were told, and Victoire had been worrying about how she was supposed to smuggle Teddy in from the fireplace in the Ravenclaw Common Room or, Merlin forbid, Professor Longbottom's study.

'It's nice.' The sudden voice behind her made her jump, and she spun around to see Jonny in a doorway looking a little sheepish. 'Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. I was exploring and just found that our rooms connect.'

'Oh, okay,' said Victoire, as her heart stopped racing. 'Maybe knock next time? You don't want to catch me changing or something.'

'Right, yeah,' said Jonny, nodding. 'I think you can bolt it from either side, if you want privacy.'

'Good to know. I might go to bed so …' said Victoire, slightly pointedly. Jonny got the hint and nodded, wishing her goodnight. He shut the door, and she waited a minute before going over and pulling the bolt across. She knew that Jonny wouldn't try anything, but she just liked to feel secure.

Her trunk had been brought up to the room for her, and she considered unpacking it then and there, but ended up just pulling her wash bag and pyjamas out, too tired to think about anything more.

The next morning dawned with a liberal scattering of grey clouds against a pale blue sky, which hung heavily over the four house tables in the Great Hall as the students trickled in for breakfast. The First Years came in one big group for each house, the gaggles walking close together and looking around with wide, nervous eyes. Albus was right in the middle of the Slytherin group, talking to a tall dark boy, but Victoire noticed Scorpius trail slightly behind the others, and no one stopped to include him.

The post owls arrived as she sat down at the Ravenclaw Table, the birds swooping low over the heads of students as they dropped letters and packages. Victoire smiled as her own owl, Artemis, landed in front of her. Artemis was small and graceful, with beautiful silvery plumage. She hooted at Victoire and dropped a letter in her hands, before hopping over to nibble on some toast.

While a cooing Jessica Alcott stroked Artemis, Victoire opened the letter. She recognised the handwriting instantly – the irregular scrawl was unmistakably Teddy's.

 _Victoire_ , it read, _I know it's only been about an hour since you left, but I thought I'd write anyway as I miss you. Is that clingy? I'm not sure. It's my lunch break now, and the other guys are being a bit boring and talking about this magazine_ Playboy _, and the girls who model in it. They're called Play-rabbits or something, I'm not sure._

 _Sorry James interrupted us, I need to teach him some more social skills. When's your next Hogsmeade weekend? Merlin, it seems like a long time until I next see you. Any more news on whether you can smuggle me in?_

 _Lunch is ending, we've got to go out on a task so I'd better go._

 _Hope Hogwarts is as good as ever,_

 _Teddy_

Rolling her eyes, Victoire reached into her schoolbag and pulled out a quill and ink pot. Pushing her plate aside to clear some space, she turned the letter over and wrote a reply:

 _Teddy, you soppy idiot. I got this at breakfast, which was very nice. They're called Playbunnies - don't ask how I know that, even I'm not sure - and it's a Muggle magazine of naked women._

 _As for the smuggling, there is good news. Don't you remember that as Head Girl, I get my own room with a fireplace? We can do some testing to see if you can get through to my room. I'm sure you can – isn't there that story of Uncle Harry's godfather Sirius Black using the Gryffindor Common Room fireplace one time? I don't know, we can see._

 _Missing you,_

 _Victoire_

Making sure that Jessica didn't see what was written, as it was strictly forbidden to sneak any boyfriends or girlfriends into the school through the Floo network, she folded up the letter and attached it to Artemis' leg. Giving the owl a pinch of muesli as a reward, she sent her off out the Great Hall again.

As she finished eating her toast - spread liberally with butter and jam - she couldn't help worrying about what on earth Teddy had done for this task, and whether he was alright. He hadn't added a postscript telling her about it. After leaving Hogwarts, he'd travelled for a few months and then with her father's help landed a job in the maintenance team of Gringotts. The team was responsible for keeping the bank running, and the job was surprisingly dangerous. They had to repair the rails that the carts ran on, hundreds of feet up in the air, and feed and maintain the dozen-odd dragons that lurked down in the depths of the bank's caverns. On his third day Teddy had slipped from the rail he was repairing, his spell fell through and he dropped straight down, luckily only fifty feet onto a track running directly below. He landed up in St Mungo's with a broken collarbone and arm. Since then there had been nothing so bad, just the odd scrape and bruise and near miss when a dragon got angry.

She hadn't said that she hated his job, and how dangerous it was, as she didn't feel like she really could tell him what job to do. Her Uncle Harry had tried to talk to him about whether he wanted to transfer to the Auror Training Scheme, but Teddy always just replied that he "wasn't sure yet" and "didn't want to commit". He did acknowledge that it was not only impractical, but downright dangerous, to see the maintenance team as a long-term career prospect. The average employee lasted no more than three years before moving on or getting disabled by some accident. But Teddy hadn't found anything else that he particularly enjoyed doing, except playing his guitar, and no one saw how that would be a valuable prospect.

Over on the Gryffindor Table, Longbottom was handing out timetables, and he'd just reached Dom and her friends. As he gave them each a filled timetable of lessons, he said:

'Now, you lot, you've reached your Fifth Year, which means OWLs. Your grades this year will be vitally important in determining your futures. So I don't want to hear about any disrupting lessons, late or shoddy homework, and certainly no truancy. Understand?'

They all nodded, managing to suppress their sniggers until he'd walked away and was talking to some other students. Dom frowned down at her timetable. Her parents kept telling her that she needed to focus on her studies, but she'd already decided what she wanted to do with her life, and none of it included lots of high grades in her exams.

She was a Beater on the Gryffindor Team, and if she could she wanted to join the Kenmare Kestrels after she left school. If she didn't succeed in that, she'd spoken to her Uncle Charlie about what she needed to do to go into working with dragons and other dangerous creatures, and he just said that NEWT grades in Care of Magical Creatures and possibly Herbology was all that was needed. She wasn't sure what Nukes was planning to do, but she couldn't imagine him spending his life sat at a desk in the Ministry. He could hardly concentrate for a forty-minute lesson unless it included lots of loud, active spells.

'Weasley!'

She looked around to see the Captain of the Gryffindor Team, Basil Hartley, striding over to her. He was the Keeper for the team, having the useful genetic trait of broad shoulders and large hands, although years of balls flying at his face had left him with a rather squashed nose.

'Hello, Hartley,' she said. 'Are you here about tryouts?'

'Yes. They're on Friday afternoon.' Basil Hartley had always been a man of few words. He frowned at her. 'Remember, Weasley, you've got to keep your marks up this year. Longbottom won't let you play if your grades slip.'

'I know, Hartley,' she said. 'I know.'

He nodded, and strode away to find the rest of the team. Dom went back to her cornflakes.

Albus' first lesson was Charms, which he was pleased about as he'd always rather liked the sound of Charms, almost as much as Defence Against the Dark Arts. He was also pleasantly surprised by how much he liked his new house. James had told him that Slytherin was the most unfriendly and standoffish house, but every Slytherin he'd spoken to had been nice and welcoming.

He did wonder about Scorpius Malfoy, though. Their beds were next to each other, and he'd tried to start a conversation with the other boy the night before as they unpacked, but he'd given monosyllabic answers until Albus had given up. The other boys in the dormitory just ignored him.

He knew that it was something to do with the Malfoy family in general, and what they'd done in the past especially the War, but Albus didn't see how things which Scorpius' relatives had done years before Scorpius was even born could affect him. Especially as just about everyone who'd done something really bad in the War was either dead or in Azkaban.

As Albus left the Great Hall with his classmates, talking to a girl called Augustine Phillips about the fact that they'd both had summer holidays in the South of France that year, he saw his brother James stood in the Entrance Hall with their cousins Fred and Louis.

'James!' he called, grinning and waving to him. James looked around, but did not return his smile, and Albus felt his own one falter as he saw the expression on his brother's face. With a glance at Fred, James came over to meet him as the other Slytherin First Years stopped to wait for him.

'What're you doing?' asked James, and Albus was shocked by how harsh his voice sounded.

'What do you mean?' he asked, confused. James gestured to the gaggle of Slytherins behind them, lowering his voice.

'You're hanging out with _them_.'

Albus narrowed his eyes at his brother. 'They're my housemates, James. I'm friends with them. Who else am I meant to hang out with? Anyway, I _am_ one of them!'

Quick as a flash, James reached out and grabbed Albus by the collar of his robes, making Albus cry out in shock. Pulling him close, he glared down at him, saying: 'You are not one of them, understand? You are _not_ a Slytherin! I don't care what anyone says, the bloody hat made a mistake. My little brother will not be associated with them, do you understand?'

Fred and Louis had come over and pulled James away, holding him firmly by the robes and pulling him away. James grabbed Albus' new Slytherin scarf, which he'd slung around his neck before leaving the dorm, and yanked it off him before leaving with Fred and Louis Albus felt the eyes of everyone in the Entrance Hall on him, as he straightened his robes and ran a hand through his hair to hide the fact he had to brush away tears. Placing a smile on his face, he went back to his housemates.

It took no time for the incident in the Entrance Hall to reach Dominique's ears – one of the guys in her group, a boy called Gary Donnelly, told her in Transfiguration. The next time she saw James, on the stairs on the way to the Great Hall, she took no time in telling him exactly what she thought of him and his actions.

Grabbing James by the back of the neck, she forced him into a half-nelson over the banister while Nukes held back Fred and Louis. James struggled, kicking out at her viciously, but she was three years older and a lot stronger.

'Ow! Dom, what're you doing? Get off!' yelled James.

'You know exactly what I'm doing, Potter,' said Dominique in a low, dangerous voice. 'Now, I don't know what's up with you or your puffed up ego, but you will go and apologise to Albus or I will make sure you feel a justified amount of pain. You're being a nasty little bully and I don't like it!'

'Dom, what's going on?'

Victoire had arrived, of course. Dom just thanked Merlin that it wasn't Molly – her cousin wouldn't wait for an explanation but would relish giving her a detention. Dom quickly explained why she had James in a half-nelson with half his body hanging over the banister, and Victoire turned to frown at James.

'You will apologise to Albus. Dom, let him go, you don't want to dislocate his shoulder. James, I don't care if you wanted Albus in Gryffindor, he's in Slytherin now and you'll just have to deal with it without acting like a spoilt child. And if you don't stop showing such prejudiced thoughts, I will have to report it to Professor Longbottom. Come on.'

She placed a firm hand on his shoulder and, with the others following, led him down to the Great Hall. Albus was sat at the Slytherin table at the edge of the First Years, pushing his food about his plate in a distinctly depressed manner. Victoire led James straight over to him and sat him down.

'Albus, James has something to say to you.'

Albus looked around, as James stared very hard at his knees, looking rather red. 'I'm sorry for what I said. About you being in Slytherin. I guess I just wanted you to be in my house.'

'It's okay,' said Albus, shrugging. 'I'm a bit sad we're not in the same house, too.'

'Yeah.'

Figuring that they weren't going to get any more out of James, Victoire indicated to him that he could go. With a half-hearted punch at Albus, he hurried off with Fred and Louis to the Gryffindor Table, followed by Dom and Nukes, and Victoire took his seat.

'How was your first day, Al? I hope James didn't ruin it too much.'

He shook his head. 'He didn't, it was still really good. Although I didn't transfigure my match at all.'

'Don't worry, hardly anyone does,' said Victoire. 'So you're making friends?'

Albus nodded.

'Listen, Albus, could you do me a favour?'

He nodded again.

'I notice that Scorpius Malfoy is struggling to settle in. Could you keep an eye on him for me? Just to make sure he's okay.'

'Sure, Victoire.'

'You don't have to tell anyone I asked you.'

'I won't.'

She smiled, and left him to his meal. Her teachers had been surprisingly nice and hadn't given them any homework yet, so she went straight up to her bedroom after she'd finished eating to unpack. However she was halfway across the room when she heard a familiar voice say:

'So you're connected to the Floo network.'

'Teddy!' she shrieked with surprise. He was sat in an armchair by the fire, grinning smugly at her. 'You came through? I thought we were going to test it first!'

'I knew that everyone would be in the Great Hall so it wouldn't be a massive disaster if I popped out the wrong one, and anyway, it worked!' he said. She went over to him and he pulled her onto his lap, kissing her gently on the lips. She curled up against him. He smelt of his laundry detergent and aftershave and the sweat and smoke of working down under Gringotts

'How was your day?' she asked. 'How did that task you mentioned in your letter go?'

Teddy shrugged. 'Not bad. We had to go help the goblins subdue a group of madmen who'd decided to try and rob one of the high security vaults. They'd hijacked a cart and ended up backed into a corner, before going berserk. We managed to subdue them but not before they destroyed a bit of wall and started throwing chunks.'

'Is that how you got this?' She'd found a streak of purplish-black bruising up his arm. She tried to cover it with her hand, but the edges could still be seen. He shook his head.

'No, I got that in the _sexiest_ of ways - by slipping on some slime as we left and smacking my arm on a metal rail. Hurt like hell, though.'

'Aw, poor baby,' she said, kissing him. 'Do you want to hear how the Sorting went?'

'Yes! I forgot! How are Rose and Albus liking Gryffindor?' She grimaced, and he raised his eyebrows at her. 'Who didn't end up in Gryffindor?'

'Albus.' She told him about the Hatstall, and Albus going into Slytherin, and how James had reacted to it.

'James will work himself out. I always thought that kid was more Slytherin than Gryffindor. Far too crafty and clever,' said Teddy. 'But anyway…' He pulled Victoire close and kissed her again, this time harder, with more force than he had before. She returned it, letting his tongue dip into her mouth as he pulled her tight against him, her hands tangling in his soft hair.

She'd lost her virginity to her first proper boyfriend in Fifth Year, and they'd only broken up halfway through Sixth Year so she hadn't got round to dating anyone else. So it wasn't so much the idea of sex that made her feel nervous, but having sex with Teddy. For some reason, Teddy felt a lot more special than her ex, Kyle Waters, had. And he'd had sex with at least two girls, probably more, so she didn't want to be disappointing compared to them.

They hadn't had much privacy over the summer, what with her nosy siblings and parents who thought that a closed door meant an open invitation, so they hadn't done anything much more than kiss. After six weeks of that, she was fairly desperate to go further with him, and she knew that he felt the same.

Slowly, his hands moved to unbutton her blouse, taking it off her as she pulled his t-shirt off to reveal a slender chest toned by his rigorous job. He'd always been thin, usually verging on skinny, but now his chest was defined by muscles. His hands were cool on her bare skin, as they slipped underneath her bra and then slid around to unclip it, one hand cupping a breast. She moaned into his lips at the touch, already feeling that familiar pleasurable ache, instinctively rubbing against him as she straddled him.

'Victoire,' he murmured, pulling away from her. 'Are you sure you want to go further?'

She looked down at him, sweeping her long hair out her face. He was so perfect, in her eyes, with his blue hair and bright brown eyes and smile that could melt stone. In answer to his question, she bent her head to kiss him on the lips again. Taking his hand, she placed it on her thigh and guided it up under her skirt to touch between her legs.

* * *

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	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two - Problems**

She wrapped her legs around his torso, and he lifted her easily, carrying her over to the bed and laying her down on it. She reached out to pull him down onto her, but as she did, they both jumped at the sudden knocking on the door between her bedroom and Jonny's. Teddy flew off her as if she'd kicked him, staring at her in bewilderment as the knocking came again. He mouthed _what_ at her.

'Victoire?' called Jonny's voice, and she felt her heart sink. 'Are you in there?'

Teddy raised his eyebrows at her, jerking his head towards the door as if to say 'get rid of him!', but she just sighed and called out: 'One second!'

'Victoire –,' started Teddy, but she just grabbed him and pushed him down under the bed. Grabbing a jumper from her open trunk, she pulled it on and hurried over to the door, pushing the bolt back and opening it. Jonny grinned at her, completely oblivious to what he'd just broken up. He was holding some parchment and books in his hands, having seemed to have just come from dinner. She realised that he was perfectly well groomed still, while she could see in her peripheral vision that a lock of hair was sticking out at an odd angle, and the rest of her hair felt dishevelled. Her jumper was also inside out.

'Hey!' he said cheerily. 'Just thought I'd see if you wanted to sort out the Prefect schedule? It'd be good to get it done before we started getting homework, we'll be so much busier in a few days.'

Victoire stared at the parchment he was holding in his hand. Her heart sank a little further. He seemed to sense that something wasn't quite right, as he asked: 'Are you alright, Victoire? Did I come at a bad time?'

'Umm … yes. Sorry, Jonny, I'd love to do the Prefect schedule with you, but I'm just feeling very tired. I think I need an early night.'

Jonny frowned. 'It's eight thirty.'

She suppressed a deep sigh, and decided to play the unbeatable card. 'I know. But I always feel tired around this … time of the month. You know. Hormones and all that.'

His face paled considerably, and he nodded so fast she worried that he'd make himself dizzy, a lock of his hair falling out of its neat style onto his forehead. He brushed it back quickly. 'Right – right, sorry Victoire, you go to bed!' He backed away, pulling the door shut behind him, and she bolted it again. There was a pause, and then Teddy rolled out from under the bed, brushing dust from his hair.

'You're not on your … time of the month, are you?' he asked. When she shook her head, he looked from her to the door and back again. 'I didn't know you've got interconnecting rooms.'

'Didn't you have that when you were Head Boy?' she asked, going over and sitting down on the side of the bed. He shook his head. 'Don't get worried or jealous, Teddy. The door bolts from both sides, and Jonny is just a friend. He might as well be gay to me.'

'Okay.' He looked down at her. 'Do you … do you want to carry on?'

She sighed, looking down at a loose thread in her skirt. 'I think the moment's gone.'

'Yeah, me too.'

He glanced around, shoving his hands in his pockets as he always did when he felt uncomfortable. Without seeming to notice, he turned his hair from electric blue to the colour of dark red wine. His t-shirt was under the armchair where they'd been sat, and he slowly went over and picked it up, turning it the right way out and pulling it over his head. She stayed sat on the bed.

'You know,' he said, glancing at her and then at the fire, 'I might just head back to my flat tonight to sleep. I've got an early start tomorrow. My group's got to give the dragons breakfast.'

She nodded, silent. She loved Teddy with all her heart, had for as long as she could remember, but beyond anything she hated his job. They had the highest injury rate for the lowest pay of any job she'd ever heard of, and her stomach clenched sickeningly each time she heard he had to go to a task or job, wondering what bruises there would be the next time she saw him. There was a pause, and then he padded over to her and kissed her softly on the cheek.

'I'll see you.'

'Sure.'

He stood in the middle of the room, seemingly at a loss for a moment, and then stepped into the fire and was gone. With a groan, Victoire fell back onto the bed and shut her eyes.

* * *

In an odd harmony, Dom was at the same time wishing to be anywhere than where she was. Nukes and the others had managed to already get detentions so were helping the house elves clean up in the Great Hall, an activity which she'd gleefully not had to join, but she was now rather wishing that she had been caught smoking with the others.

She was instead sat in the dormitory with the others, trying to unpack and not be wound up by the other girls in the room. There was an odd dynamic between the five of them, partly because Dom just tried to ignore the others, and they tried to ignore her. The other four formed most of the main girl clique amongst the Gryffindor Fifth Years, with Molly being accepted in the group and so utterly bitchy to Dom.

It hadn't been as bad between Molly and Dom when they'd first started Hogwarts; Molly had been shy and spent her whole time hiding behind thick tomes, her glasses seeming to have a constant film of dust. They hadn't had anything in common, and their personalities had been incompatible, but they'd just rubbed along silently.

Sometime around Third Year, Molly had changed her hair and clothes a little and become more confident, and so the clique had accepted her into the group, at which point she'd decided that to be friends with them she had to be utterly foul to Dom. Oddly, most of the other girls in the group weren't so bad, they just didn't have much to do with her.

'Molls darling,' said one girl, Abby, who was also the richest out of the group. She was Muggleborn, she lived in a manor house somewhere in the Home Counties, and her father had been knighted when she was eight. Her boyfriend happened to be Basil Hartley, the Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. 'You must help me with my Transfiguration homework this year, if I don't pass Daddy says he won't send me to Switzerland.'

'What would you go to Switzerland for, Dignitasse?' The words were out Dom's mouth before she'd thought about them, but she didn't really care. Abby did have a sense of humour, if nothing else, and laughed. Molly and the other girls looked rather shocked.

'No, Dominique, there's a finishing school,' explained Abby. 'I want to go there after Hogwarts, while Basil is training to get onto Puddlemere.'

'Oh, you're so lucky Abby, you and Basil make such a cute couple,' said another girl, Tilly.

'I know – you know he sent me flowers all the time over the holidays, whenever he was busy? He's such a gentleman, not like _some_ boys.'

Dom tried to ignore them, focussing instead on the new Quidditch move she was trying to learn, which involved hitting the Bludger while in mid-roll. She lifted a slightly crumpled pile of t-shirts out of her trunk, laying them on the bed. But her cousin's next words made her grind her teeth:

'You're so right – some boys only care about drinking and smoking, and they always treat their girlfriends badly. I wouldn't touch a 'bad boy' with a barge pole,' said Molly, casting a pointed look at Dom, who again couldn't help herself.

'Oh shut up Molly!' she said sharply, looking around at them all. Molly looked smug at the fact that she'd gotten a rise out of her, and suddenly Dom was so blisteringly angry she didn't care what she said. 'Don't you dare make snap judgements about people, especially my friends and boyfriend – just because _you're_ uptight and in the closet doesn't mean we all are!'

It was a bad joke, a senseless one, but even Dom was surprised by Molly's reaction. Her cousin went a bright, deep crimson, her blue eyes went very wide, and she seemed strangely lost for words. There was a long, awkward silence, broken by a peal of laughter.

It was Abby, of course. She was leant against a bedpost, virtually _howling_ with laughter. 'Ah-ha-ha!' she cried, wiping her eyes. 'Merlin, Dominique, you say the funniest things sometimes, odd as you are. Molly – gay? Ha!' She calmed a little, her laughter residing to intermittent giggles, and then she said: 'Oh, but really Molls, we must get you a boyfriend. With your tits, half the boys in the year could be after you if you wanted.'

'Whose single at the moment, and decent?' asked the fourth girl, Anna. She was the quietest of the group, the only one that Dom could imagine spending time with without poking forks in her eyes, and rather pretty with her fine blonde hair and heart shaped face.

'Andrew Landsley?' suggested Tilly. 'Or that friend of his, Jonty Melville?'

'Oh Merlin no, a pair of muddy tweed bumpkins the both of them. They spend their summers on their family farms breeding _pigs_ ,' said Abby. Dom couldn't help agreeing that Andrew and Jonty were both highly dull, but she refrained from pointing out that the way they were choosing a boy for Molly wasn't much different to Jonty and Andrew choosing pigs at their local market. 'Oh, I know! Charley Davenport! He's perfect!'

'Doesn't he have a girlfriend?' Anna pointed out as she compared two bottles of nail lacquer, deciding on the hot pink one over the electric blue.

Abby shrugged nonchalantly. 'Oh, Meredith is on her way out. Everyone knows that she's got a thing for Alistair Cameron, and she's just waiting for a moment to get rid of Charley. It'll be perfect – he'll be all sad over Meredith leaving, and we can set you Molly up as the person who consoles him, and then he'll obviously fall head-over-heels for you.'

Molly didn't say much, just a quiet 'okay', but Abby didn't seem to need much agreement for her plan. As she started planning out loud when there would be an opportune moment to set Charley and Molly up, Dom decided to leave the dormitory very quickly, and go find out whether Nukes and the others had finished their detention.

On the way out through the Common Room she noticed Roxanne sat by one of the fireplaces, her long legs stretched out on a table, surrounded by boys. They were all popular, sport - jocks, they'd be called in America. Robert Wood, Danny Hale, Jamie Fitzpatrick, and a few others that she didn't bother to know. Dom had never had much time for that lot, finding them all a bit boring with their Quidditch and inane conversation.

But Roxanne enjoyed hanging out with them. They were all fun, popular, and most importantly - the best looking guys in the year. And she enjoyed being the most popular girl in her year. They were just talking about how to celebrate the start of term.

'Well the Quidditch tryouts are Friday afternoon, for Gryffindor. Apparently Basil Hartley wants to try out all the positions,' said Danny.

'All of them?' Robert looked around from poking the fire. 'Why?'

Danny shrugged. 'Says he wants to make sure there's no "new talent" that he'd be missing. Why're you looking worried anyway, your Dad is Oliver Wood?' He turned back to Roxanne. 'So why don't we do something after that? Come up to our dorm, bring some of your friends, we'll make it a party.'

'I've got some cider in my trunk,' said Jamie. 'Snuck it past my parents.'

'And my sister's boyfriend bought some Firewhisky for me over the summer,' said Roxanne.

'Damn, I'm afraid she beats you Jamie,' said Danny, nudging her in the ribs. It was where she was ticklish, and she squealed with laughter, squirming away from him.

* * *

The Slytherin Common Room was very grand, but Albus couldn't help thinking how it was also a little cold and uncomfortable, and the fact that it was under the lake made it positively eerie, especially when a reptilian mermaid swam past, or the Giant Squid. To compensate, however, the dormitories were a lot nicer and cosier, although very different to the Gryffindor ones, from what Albus had heard.

For starters, there were only four of them in his dorm, instead of five, and apparently the number of people in the dormitories was interchangeable - people switched rooms all the time, and furniture disappeared or appeared to match that. They had rather ornate wrought iron bedsteads, the thinner bars shaped like curling serpents, with thick downy silk coverlets in bright green embroidered with grey thread. Each bed also had a bedside table, a set of shelves, and a wardrobe with three large drawers for clothes.

What made the dormitories cosy was that each had its own fireplace, with a great metal bucket of logs which was somehow always full, and that warmed the whole room. There were two armchairs and a two-person sofa around the fireplace, close enough for one to stretch out one's legs and warm one's feet at the hearth.

However the most striking aspect was the dormitory window. One went up a stone spiral staircase to reach the boys' dormitories, but until he walked into the room Albus didn't realise that the dorms were above the lake. Well, just. The windows were about six feet wide and tall, and made of solid glass that melded seamlessly into the stone wall. At the bottom of the window, around waist-height on Albus, the grey waters of the lake lapped, and they had a view across the whole expanse. According to an older student, the dormitories for the upper years were the level above them, and you could open the windows and climb out.

'Isn't that dangerous?' asked Hugh Stanley when they were told, but the Fifth Year laughed.

'Sure, yeah. But if you're a big enough idiot to manage to climb out the window and then fall off the ledge and drown yourself, you're unlikely to have made it into Slytherin?'

They had a bathroom which they shared with the dormitory next door. That room was colder than the dormitories, the drafts cold even in September, but as grand as the rest of the Slytherin Dungeons. There were two bathtubs, curtained off with showerheads in the shape of huge open-mouthed pythons, and five mirrored sinks in a row opposite another row of old-fashioned toilet cubicles.

The dormitory next door had a lot of the boys that Albus was spending time with in it, and seemed to be much louder and rowdier than his. He didn't mind the quietness of his one, however, as it was nice to have some peace and quiet at the end of the day. One other boy in the dormitory, Hugh Stanley, hung out with the group next door during the day, but he too seemed to like calmness and quiet.

Of the last two boys in the dormitory, one was a boy called Leopold Zabini - although he made sure that everyone called him Leo, not Leopold. Albus wasn't sure yet whether Leo was unfriendly or just shy, as he spent the whole time hanging out with his twin sister Victoria, and the two hadn't really socialised with the rest of the house yet. He seemed nice, from the few words that Albus had spoken to him before bed.

The final boy was of course Scorpius Malfoy, who was a complete enigma to Albus. He too hadn't tried to make friends with anyone else in Slytherin, instead just going off on his own the whole time, and no one seemed to be making any effort to be friendly to him. In fact, Albus thought the others were ostracising him rather, and he couldn't quite fathom why. Scorpius was part of a very old family, and he seemed to be very wealthy, but that was no reason to automatically dislike him.

On Friday afternoon Albus had no lessons and had completed his homework, so he decided to go watch the Gryffindor Quidditch team tryouts. He knew that his housemates would likely find it a little odd, but almost his whole family was in Gryffindor, and moreover James was trying out for the Quidditch Team. James may have been foul to him on his first day, and rather cool since then, but he was still Albus' brother.

It was a fine September afternoon when Albus set off from the Slytherin Common Room, his robes flapping about his ankles in a slightly atmospheric way as he made his way through the dungeon passageways towards the Entrance Hall. It had been daunting at first, trying to find the Common Room, and several times he'd walked straight past the blank stretch of wall where the entrance was concealed, but now he didn't even take one wrong turning before reaching the stone staircase up to the ground floor.

He went up the staircase and turned left immediately at the top, starting down a wide gallery filled with portraits of very rambunctious nuns and monks, but it was very crowded with students so he ducked behind a tapestry which he'd found concealed a shortcut to the Entrance Hall.

It was a bare corridor of stone that ran along the edge of the castle, so there were alcoves at each of the windows with low benches or steps. About halfway down the corridor, he saw a familiar blond head sat upon one of the steps, bent over his knees. Parchment, books, and quills were scattered across the flagged flooring.

'Scorpius? Are you alright?' he asked, his voice sounding rather loud after the din of the gallery outside. Scorpius jumped, seeming to only notice him for the first time, and hurriedly started to pick up the scattered things.

Albus went over and bent down to help, picking up the books and stacking them, but as he held them out to Scorpius he saw a large globule of blood fall onto Scorpius' open palm. Looking up, he noticed for the first time that Scorpius' nose was bloody, and a bruise seemed to be developing on his cheek. His eyes also looked rather red and his face was blotchy, but Albus didn't mention that.

'Someone beat you up?'

It was rhetorical, and Scorpius just shrugged, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket and wiping his hand and nose. Albus gathered up his things and placed them neatly in Scorpius' schoolbag, which was lying open on the floor. Scorpius still didn't say anything.

'I'm going to the Gryffindor Quidditch tryouts now, do you want to come?' Albus asked. Scorpius stared at him, confused.

'The _Gryffindor_ ones?'

'Yeah. My brother is trying out, and my cousin's in the team, so I thought I'd go and watch. Anyway, we want to get a look at the competition, don't we?'

Scorpius smiled for the first time, wiping his nose again, and then stood up. Shrugging, he picked up his schoolbag, and Albus took it as an indication that he'd come. He wasn't usually a talker, often finding it hard to know what to say with someone he didn't know well, but for some reason as the two of them walked he found it effortless to fill the silence that Scorpius left with chatter. By the time they reached the Quidditch Pitch, Scorpius' eyes were clear and he even laughed a little at Albus' story of when James was practicing on his broom and nearly hit a local farmer's tractor.

The spectators were mostly Gryffindors, from the number of red and gold scarves, and when they emerged onto the stands Scorpius went pale at the sight of them all. Albus turned towards an emptier section, noticing as they sat down that Scorpius had taken off his Slytherin scarf, stuffing it in his pocket.

Roxanne was with Gracie Adams, the two of them bundled up together with a thermos of coffee and Zach Hale, Gracie's boyfriend. Zach was in the group with them, but didn't play Quidditch. He wasn't one of the ones Roxanne knew best, but he seemed like a nice guy. The three of them were placing bets on who they thought would make it onto the team.

'So, Danny is a definite. Him and your cousin, Dominique, are terrifying Beaters,' said Gracie, pointing to the clearly noticeable hulking Danny and red-haired Dom, stood together on the pitch. The year before, Dom and Danny had broken the record for the number of students knocked out the air by Bludgers they'd hit. Only a couple of students were attempting to try out as Beaters against them.

The hopeful Chasers were a larger group. Roxanne spotted her younger cousin James stood amongst them, the top of his head about level with the shoulders of the boy next to him. Robert Wood was there too, with Jamie Fitzpatrick, the two of them stood slightly apart. Basil Hartley was bellowing so loudly they could hear what he was saying from the stands, his face red to the hairline. His girlfriend, Abby, was sat with Molly and all their annoying friends further down the stands from Roxanne, giggling together and pointing at Basil and the hopefuls.

'Oh look, Basil's trying the Chasers now!' cried Gracie, pointing down at the pitch. 'Wish Robert and Jamie luck!'

'And James,' said Roxanne, watching her little cousin take off into the air.

* * *

Victoire was not watching the Gryffindor tryouts, firstly because she wasn't actually a Gryffindor, a fact that her numerous cousins kept forgetting whenever Quidditch was brought up, and secondly because she didn't particularly care and preferred to catch up on homework. The relaxed attitude that teachers had had about setting work on the first day had well and truly gone, and she now had a stack about a foot high to get done for Monday. It made her appreciate having the peace and quiet of her own room - the Common Room was far too loud to concentrate in, and the Library was on the other side of the castle and chilly.

She was also - although she denied it whenever she thought about it - listening out for the familiar sound of someone arriving by Floo in her fireplace. She and Teddy had exchanged a couple of letters, but he hadn't come to visit again since that night when Jonny had interrupted them. The letters had been rather factual, both of them just describing their days and not mentioning that night or how they felt about it. She was worried he was annoyed with her, but she didn't see what she'd done wrong as she had no control over the fact her room was now connected to Jonny's.

Realising that she was thinking of Teddy again, she forced him out of her head and turned back to her Transfiguration essay, flicking through her textbook to find the chapter on dealing with bodily wounds. As she was hoping to train as a Healer in St Mungo's after she left Hogwarts, each fortnight one of her subject teachers was setting her an extra essay, on healing spells and magic that wasn't covered in the syllabus. Supposedly St Mungo's wanted their trainees to know as much as possible about the theories of healing, to speed the training along a little. It wasn't a policy she particularly liked.

She'd hardly started a new paragraph in her essay on regrowing limbs that had been non-magically accidentally amputated, when she heard an unmistakable _whoosh_ behind her, and she looked around to see Teddy stepping out onto the hearth rug. She started laughing as soon as she saw him - he'd turned his hair platinum blond, and it fell in a straight sheet to his waist, covering half his face.

'Why do you always make me laugh whenever we've argued?' she asked, standing up and brushing her own blonde hair off her face. He smiled at her, but didn't change his hair back to normal, and she frowned at him. She could tell something was wrong. 'What is it?'

She went over to him, and he turned away as she tried to push the hair off his face. He wasn't quick enough, however, and she saw the bruising that covered half that side of his face, stretching from his cheek to well above his eyebrow and swelling his right eye almost shut. His skin had split over the cheekbone, leaving a nasty scab. She let out an involuntary cry, and the non-bruised part of his face reddened.

'It's nothing, Victoire.' His hair shortened, going back to normal length and a muddy brown colour in seconds. The bruising looked, if anything, worse. His Metamorphmagus powers didn't allow him to hide any unhealed wounds.

'It's not nothing, Teddy! You got this in Gringotts, didn't you? What happened? Why didn't you tell me?'

'It only happened this morning,' he said, his words slightly slurred as she saw that his lip was swollen as well. 'One of the dragons, as we were feeding him, went a bit mental and its tail hit my face. But its spikes weren't sharp, Victoire, it's fine!'

'And what if its spikes had been sharp, Teddy? What if it hadn't been its tail? If it had decided to breathe fire at you, you could've been killed!' She sat down in the armchair. He squatted down beside her, turning so she couldn't see the damaged side of his face, but she caught him by the chin and turned him to face her properly. 'I hate this, Teddy.'

'What do you hate?' he asked. 'Our relationship?'

'No! I hate your job. I hate how dangerous it is, I hate how it makes me worry all the time, and I hate that it means that you're always walking around with bruises and cuts and broken ribs. I don't know whether the next time I see you you're going to be in a hospital bed!' Her words choked in her throat, and she let out a sob, covering her face with her hands. 'I just hate it!'

Without a word, Teddy wrapped his arms around her, tucking her head into the crook between his neck and shoulder. It was awkward, as he was still squatting on the floor, but she found herself struggling not to break into full-on weeping.

'I'm sorry, I've just got so much to do, and I just worry so … so … much,' she gasped, shaking slightly.

'You shouldn't worry so much, Victoire,' he said. 'I'll be fine!'

'How can you say that?' she cried, shoving him away so hard and suddenly that he fell backwards off his feet, landing on his arse, and he looked up at her in shock. 'How can you just _tell_ me to not worry? Even though I know that you're doing stuff that no one else in their right mind would do, every day of the week! I sit in lessons unable to concentrate because I'm wondering whether you're in danger or hurt or worse!'

'Well what do you want me to say?' he asked, trying to brush soot off his hands and just spreading it everywhere. 'If you don't want me to have a job, what do you want me to do? Join the Aurors? Or just get an office job and sit at a desk for forty years and then _die_?'

'Why are you looking so deeply into this?' she retorted, brushing tears off her cheeks. 'All I'm saying is I worry about you!'

'No, you're saying you hate my job and you want me to get something a bit more sensible!' he snapped. She glared at him.

'I wouldn't give a damn what your job was, as long as you weren't endangering your life!'

A long silence stretched out between them, both of them staring in different directions. Finally Victoire spoke. 'Have you noticed that we keep arguing whenever we see each other?'

There was another silence. Teddy's hair drifted from brown to blue to green to brown again. Then he stood up, and turned to her. He pulled her to her feet, almost roughly, placing his other hand on the small of her back and looking down at her. And then they were kissing, his lips against hers, firm and dry, the kiss so hard she could taste the smoke and mint in his mouth. Their bodies were pressed against each other, hips grinding as he held her. Her fingers fumbled with the buttons of his shirt, almost wrenching it off him as he dived for her neck, trailing kisses down to her collarbone where he sucked, leaving a glowing lovebite.

She moaned as he did, loving the feeling of it, and she ran her hands down to the waistband of his trousers, trying to pull the button open. She suddenly realised that his lips were no longer on her neck, he was stepping away from her. She looked up at him, her eyebrows creasing into a frown as her hands fell limply to her sides. 'What?'

He turned away from her, shrugging, his hands going into his pockets. 'I … are you sure … it's just … are you ready?'

'Seriously? Are you seriously asking me that?'

'What?' he asked. 'Why are you angry?'

'Why are you treating me like a child?' she asked, glaring.

'I'm not - I'm just asking whether you're really ready for this?'

'Teddy, I'm seventeen! I'm an adult! And I've already had sex - several times! So don't treat me like a child that you have to look after!' she yelled. 'I'm completely sober so you're not taking advantage of me. If I am going for sex, I am going for sex, and I don't need you to check I'm okay. Understand?'

He stared at her so wide she could see the whites of his eyes, his mouth open. 'Okay.'

'Okay.' She shrugged, staring down at the floor.

'The thing is … I wasn't saying that because I think you're a child, Victoire. I really wasn't. A child is the _last_ thing I think you are. But all we've done so far is kiss - I just wanted to check that this wasn't moving too fast,' he said, picking up his shirt. She pursed her lips, pouting slightly, and then went to him and pulled the shirt from his hands. He looked down at her, his mouth still slightly open, as she reached up and took his chin, pulling him down to her level so she could kiss him.

Placing her hands on his chest, she pushed him back onto the bed and he pulled her on with him, as they kissed. As he started trying to take off her shirt, she murmured: 'We don't have to have sex if that's too fast, Teddy.' He didn't reply, almost tearing her shirt as he pulled it off her and kissed one of her small rounded breasts, deftly unclipping her bra. She started to trail kisses down his chest and stomach, unbuttoning his trousers and pulling them down his legs. He was already hard. She'd seen him naked when they were younger, but he was very different now.

'Victoire…' he murmured, but before he could say anything more she had grasped his cock, running her hand up and down his shaft for a few strokes before taking it in her mouth. He was too big for her mouth, so she licked and kissed up and down the length and then took the end in her mouth again to suck as he moaned with pleasure, holding her head in his hands. As she blew him more intensely, feeling his balls as she did, he arched his back and then finally came with a groan, letting out a cry and filling her mouth with salty sperm. She swallowed and then leant back again, both of them gasping for breath. Teddy was grinning, running a hand through his hair.

'It's your turn, now,' he said with a cheeky smile, pulling her up and virtually throwing her onto the bed as she let out an almost scream of laughter.

'Teddy!' she giggled, as he knelt between her legs and kissed up the ticklish inside of her thighs, pushing her skirt up to reveal her lacy black and pink underwear. Hooking a finger around the elastic he pulled them off and leant in to place a kiss between her legs, eliciting a soft moan of pleasure as he did.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

The room was dimly lit and becoming rather warm and smokey from the lit stove in the centre of the room, as Roxanne poured her and Gracie a mixer of Salamander Vodka and orange juice. The Quidditch tryouts had ended, and Danny Hale and Jamie Montgomery were rowdily enjoying their own success as they downed shots and accepted congratulations and slaps on the backs from others. Danny had easily retained his position as one of the Beaters, and Jamie Fitzpatrick was now a Chaser with James, Roxanne's cousin, who she'd seen leaving the pitch looking absolutely ecstatic.

'Do you think we should go over to him?' Gracie was looking over Roxanne's shoulder, at Robert Wood, who was sat on his bed drinking some Muggle whisky from the bottle, a hollow look in his eyes. He'd also tried out as a Chaser, but had fumbled his throws and had dropped down to the Reserves, losing out to James, a Second Year.

'I don't think there's much we can say,' replied Roxanne. She wondered whether Robert's father had anything to do with him being in this state - he'd never seemed to particularly enjoy Quidditch that much, always seeming reluctant to go out for practices last year.

'I suppose you're right. Come on, let's go join the party,' said Gracie, taking her drink from Roxanne and leading the way into the group of guys, who welcomed them with loud cheers. It was easy to forget about Robert as they started playing raucous games, mostly involving alcohol. Soothsayer's Strip was her favourite - you threw a Knut in the air and tried to guess whether it would land showing a goat or the three hoops on the other side. If you were wrong, you either took a shot or took off an item of clothing. She was not very good at it.

'Careful, don't fall against the stove,' said Danny, catching her by the small of the back and pulling her close to him, as she giggled and stumbled. She was barefoot and in her bra, although she still had her skinny jeans on. Gracie was wearing nothing but underwear, and had disappeared off with Zach, her boyfriend.

'Thank you,' she said, leaning against his bare chest. It felt very big and very hard, the muscles sculpted under her cheek. 'Well done for getting into - onto - into the team.'

He laughed, still holding her by the waist. 'I was thinking of you when I did.' His mouth tasted bitter from alcohol when he kissed her, and she was so drunk she wasn't sure how to react, but she didn't pull away and let him continue kissing her, his hands on her arse.

She woke the next morning in her own bed, the night before a confused blur as she struggled to sit up straight, her bed seeming to shift beneath her. She found an old bottle of water beneath her bed and swigged it, wincing at the bitter taste in her mouth. Her head spun sickeningly, making her wonder if she was about to throw up. She thanked the fact that she did not think she had thrown up the night before.

'Gracie, you awake?' she groaned, pushing sweaty hair off her face, and looked around. The beds of the other three girls in the dormitory were empty, but she saw a curled up ball under the sheets and blankets of Gracie's bed. A rather pained mumble replied.

Fumbling with the top drawer of her bedside table, Roxanne found the paper packet of Hangover Cures that Dominique had given her a few weeks ago. They were little glass bottles about the size of shots filled with thick blue liquid. She pulled the cork out of one and swigged it down, wincing at the sickly sweet taste, but a few seconds later her head felt a little better. She sat up properly and swung her legs out of bed, standing up and hanging onto the bedpost for support. It was a few minutes until she had the strength to go to the bathroom for a shower.

When she reemerged, Gracie was sat up against the headboard looking as if she'd been smacked on the back of the head with a Beater's bat, her hair in a tangle around her face. Roxanne giggled, and threw a Hangover Cure at her. It hit her thigh under the blankets and bounced, rolling down onto the mattress.

'Thanks,' murmured Gracie as she uncorked it and downed it in one. 'So you and Danny, huh.'

Roxanne sat down on the edge of her bed, towelling her hair slowly. She hadn't remembered before, but now it came back to her, making her stomach clench rather. It was blurred, but she remembered kissing him, in his dorm, being unable to stand properly, but then …

'What exactly happened?'

Gracie smiled, her eyes becoming more focussed as the cure set in. 'Don't worry, you didn't do anything with him except kiss him. But you did spend a long while kissing him.'

'Oh Merlin - does that mean we're in a relationship or something?' She wasn't sure if she really wanted to date Danny. He was fun, and very good looking, and although she preferred more slender guys she wouldn't say no to Danny's huge, muscular build.

'I don't know, if you want to I guess,' said Gracie. She seemed disinterested. Roxanne finished towelling her hair and picked up her wand, pointing it at her hair and making it emit hot air to dry it properly. Gracie had bought her a book on spells on all things to do with styling hair and she loved it; her hair had been an auburn mane that she could not get to do what she wanted, but with the spells from the book she managed to make it sleek, smooth and wavy instead of thick and frizzy.

As it was a Saturday, she didn't have to wear uniform, so she went to her wardrobe and pulled out the outfit she'd been wanting to wear all week. The white lacy top made her skin look even more tanned, and the cut accentuated the fact she was slender. She paired it with a flared blue skater skirt and black boot heels. As much as she loved the Wizarding World, she loved the Muggle world's fashion. Robes were just so unflattering.

Leaving Gracie in the shower, she finished off by applying some makeup on her eyes and some red lipstick, and then went downstairs. The boys were up already, sat around one of the fireplaces, and they all looked around as she sat down in an armchair.

'You're looking surprisingly lively for someone who crawled up the stairs to their dormitory last night,' said Jamie, raising his eyebrows.

'My cousin gave me some Hangover Cures over the summer, I think she predicted what we'd get up to this year,' replied Roxanne, smiling. She glanced at Danny. He was sat opposite her in a black t-shirt that was pulled tight enough for her to see his muscles through. He smiled at her, winking slightly.

'So you good?' Danny asked, smiling down at her. He was very good looking, she had to admit. She nodded, and he brushed behind her ear a lock of hair that had fallen forward. 'I had a really fun time with you last night, Roxanne.'

'Yeah, I had a fun time too,' she said. She didn't notice Robert behind them, glaring at the flagged stone floor between his feet.

* * *

It was a surprising turn of events, but Albus found himself becoming fast friends with Scorpius, as they discovered that they enjoyed each other's company a lot, against all expectations. He found Scorpius more interesting than any of the other boys he'd been hanging out with, and the two were soon what anyone else would class as "best friends", although they refused to call each other that.

By circumstance, the two of them also ended up spending time with the Zabini twins, as they were also inseparable. Albus liked Xander, but found Victoria terrifyingly sophisticated and very beautiful. Soon their developing foursome was noticed by the rest of year, and others in the school itself.

'Why are you hanging out with that _Malfoy_?' asked one of the other Slytherin boys to Albus one morning while Scorpius was in the shower. Albus just shrugged and went on getting dressed.

'I'm so pleased you and Scorpius are spending time together,' said Victoire to Albus in the corridor when they passed as he headed towards Defence Against the Dark Arts. She smiled proudly down at him, and he returned it awkwardly, hurrying after Scorpius and the Zabinis.

'So not only are you in Slytherin, you're hanging out with Malfoy,' said James to him in the Library, rolling his eyes. 'Well, you can do what you like, I'm not going to comment. I'm going to help Fred replace books with joke fakes that we bought in Uncle George's shop.'

Rose was the nicest about it, just smiling crookedly as they passed each other with their respective groups of friends and waving. They had Potions together, and Albus made a point of sitting on Rose's table, although he brought Scorpius along too to sit on his other side. Sadly Rose, although liking the fact Albus was settling happily into Slytherin, did not get on well with Scorpius.

'So class, today we will be making a Cure for Boils,' called Professor Kettle over their heads. 'Turn to page fifty-six in your books, please, and start!'

Albus opened his book and flicked through to the right page, scanning over the ingredients and instructions. It looked relatively simple - he liked to think that he was quite good at Potions, at least enough to keep up with Rose and Scorpius.

There was a brief silence on the table as all three of them crushed six snake fangs and added them to the cauldron, stirring smoothly until the powder had dissolved and turned the potion a jade green. This quiet didn't last long however, as Scorpius and Rose started debating the best way to chop the Pungous Onions as the next ingredient.

'Thicker is best - I read it in _Potioneering for Pioneers_ ,' insisted Rose, chopping the onion into wedges.

'No, my mum told me to always chop them very finely,' said Scorpius, doing so on his.

'Oh, and why should she know better than the author of _Potioneering for Pioneers_?' asked Rose, glaring at Scorpius.

'She only started the most highly successful apothecary and potion shop in Diagon Alley,' retorted Scorpius. Rose went red, but stubbornly added her own thick-cut onion, going redder as Scorpius' potion looked closer to the desirable thickness than hers. Albus just stayed quiet and cut the onion into even slices, ignoring them both. It seemed that Scorpius spoke loudest and most forcefully when someone disagreed with him, and half the time this seemed to be Rose.

Both of them, however, looked askance as all three of them finished the potion, but it was neither Scorpius' nor Rose's potions which had the right shade of pink steam emitting from it, but Albus'.

'Very well done Albus, five points to Slytherin,' said Professor Kettle as he passed. Both Scorpius and Rose looked annoyed, their potions emitting blush and magenta smoke respectively. Albus tried to suppress a smile.

* * *

For some reason, the Library was just too quiet for Dominique. She preferred to work in the Common Room, as all the noise didn't disturb her and helped her not get distracted by her own thoughts, but she knew that if she sat there she'd be distracted by Nukes and the others instead. So for the tenth time, she pushed Quidditch and dragons out her head and attempted to concentrate on her Transfiguration essay. Professor Foxworth had given her a D in her last homework, and had said that if she didn't pass the next one she'd have to have extra tutoring. The idea of it filled her with dread.

Technically she was halfway through the essay, but when she read through what she'd written it seemed to make no sense at all. Dropping her quill, she buried her face in her arms and suppressed a groan.

'Seems like you need a break.'

'No, Nukes, I can't take a break. The essay is due for Monday, I have Quidditch practice this afternoon …'

'What about Sunday?'

'I hate working on Sunday.'

When she lifted her head to look up at him, she saw he was grinning. 'What?' He just shrugged, crossing his arms. 'What? Stop it, Nukes!' She tried to kick him under the table but he dodged it, laughing. 'You're so annoying.'

'You know what I've got?' He pulled out a pair of concert tickets, showing them to her. She sighed and looked away. 'They're for the Harping Ravers tonight, Dom. Your favourite.'

'And you know I can't go, Nukes, I've got too much work. I mean Merlin, don't you? I've got to finish this essay, and then I've got another one for Defence Against the Dark Arts, and reading for Charms! And there's Quidditch practice, too,' she groaned.

'Okay. So we go after Quidditch practice?' he said, pushing the tickets towards her. 'It doesn't start until seven thirty, and we can sneak through Longbottom's office fireplace while he's at dinner. It'll be easy.'

She frowned at the tickets - the Harping Ravers were her favourite band after all. But Foxworth would not be lenient if her essay wasn't up to scratch and extra tutoring with her would be hell. 'I'll see, Nukes. Alright?'

'Alright.' He stood up to go, kissing her briefly on the neck. 'Keep the tickets. We can see how you're feeling after practice.' His heavy footsteps echoed through the Library as he walked away, and then there was a creak and slam as he opened and closed the door. She heaved a deep sigh, and picked up the tickets on the desk, frowning at them. The concert ended at ten thirty, so they'd be able to sneak back in easily enough as she knew Longbottom didn't work late. Only that would mean that she couldn't work at all that evening, and she'd probably get more Ds in her essays.

She was so absorbed in the tickets - trying to work out what the meaning behind the Harping Raver's band logo of a dancing goblin was - that she didn't notice the girls walking up behind her, until Molly snatched the tickets from her hands. 'Hey!' She spun around, trying to grab them back, but Molly was already out her reach. 'Give them back, Molly.'

'What are these?' asked Molly, her voice sounding mockingly innocent as she eyed Dom slyly. 'Ooh - concert tickets for tonight! Why on earth would you have these, Dominique? You wouldn't be wanting to sneak out now, would you?'

The other girls burst into giggles. Dom glared at her cousin. 'I said, give them back, Molly!'

'No. As a Prefect, I think it is my duty to hand these in to Professor Longbottom. I wouldn't want you to do anything against the rules now, would I? Don't worry, I won't tell him whose they are, I'm not mean.'

Dom stood up and took a step forward so she was nose-to-nose with her cousin, feeling gratified by the fact she was a few inches taller than her. 'You know what, Molly? I don't know why you were sorted into Gryffindor in the first place. You're not brave, or chivalrous, and you don't even appreciate those traits either. You're just a small, mean, _selfish_ person who just hates other people feeling happy. I don't know what my aunt and uncle did to make you like this, but you're messed up, Molly. Take the tickets to Longbottom if you like, and enjoy the fact that I hate you.'

She grabbed her schoolbag, sweeping her things into it, and shoved past Molly and the other girls as she headed towards the doors of the Library. The laughter of the girls echoed after her as she walked away.

It was cool in the corridor outside and Dom leant against the stone wall, breathing heavily as she tried to stop herself from going back into the Library and punching her cousin. After a couple of minutes she shifted her bag on her shoulder and set off towards the Gryffindor Tower on the other side of the castle. Halfway there, she found herself joined by Gary Donnelly.

'Hey Dom, what's up?'

'Nothing much.'

He looked at her out the corner of his eye as they pushed past a huge crowd of First Years ogling over something in the corridor. 'What's happened? You look like someone's just stamped on your hamster.'

She couldn't help smiling at that, shaking back hair that had fallen over her face. She needed a haircut. At first she wasn't planning on telling anyone about what had happened in the Library except Nukes as the tickets were his, but as she glanced at Gary's surprisingly sweet face, she found herself telling him the entire story. 'So now my bitch of a cousin is handing in the tickets to Longbottom and I've found I actually really want to go to the concert!'

Gary seemed to be thinking about it for a while, until they reached the staircase up towards the Gryffindor Tower. As they reached the Fat Lady, he said: 'Okay, so we have to get them back, right? The tickets, not the girls. Or maybe the girls as well?'

She laughed, punching him playfully on the shoulder. 'The tickets first. What do you mean, get them back?'

'Isn't it obvious? Molly, your cousin, is handing the tickets in to Longbottom - Jabberwock - and she'll probably do that on her way back to the Common Room,' explained Gary as the portrait swung forward and they climbed through to the Common Room. 'So when you go into his study to use the fireplace, just get the tickets. They'll probably be sat on the top of his desk.'

'Yeah, but Gary, that means a lot more than just nipping through to use the fireplace. He'll go apeshit if he finds us rifling through his stuff!'

'I'll keep lookout,' he replied. Nukes and the other guys were sat around, and he raised an eyebrow when she sat down in the small space next to him. Gary sat down in a chair on the other side, and they quickly outlined the plan to him. It didn't take much to convince him.

Molly appeared a short while later, shooting a smug smile at Dom and Nukes as she passed them with her friends. Nukes gave her the middle finger and grinned at Dom as the gang of girls burst into shocked gasps, whispering to each other as they hurried up to their dormitory. Dom smiled back, poking him playfully in the ribs and pecking him on the lips as she stood up.

'I'd better go get ready for Quidditch practice,' she explained. 'I'll meet you back up here afterwards?'

It was difficult to concentrate in Quidditch as her mind kept formulating plans for that evening instead of focussing on the Bludgers. One would've hit her square in the stomach, if Danny Hale hadn't hit it away just in time. Luckily Basil Hartley, at the other end of the pitch by the goalposts, didn't notice but Danny looked at her as if she'd just struggled to add two and two together.

The practice seemed to drag on and on, even though it only lasted the usual two hours, and Dom virtually into the changing rooms, showering for barely two minutes and dressing so quickly that when she arrived in the Common Room she realised her t-shirt was inside out.

'Looks like you've been doing something illicit,' said Gary. He and Nukes were sat opposite each other playing cards.

'Maybe I have. And wow, cards? You guys are so cool,' she retorted.

'We got bored and you're not allowed to smoke in here,' said Nukes. 'So, everyone's gone to supper - shall we go?'

It was almost seven when they left the Common Room, hurrying away from the flow of students moving towards the Great Hall to head for Professor Longbottom's study, which was exactly below the Common Room in the Gryffindor Tower. The door was shut, and when Dom peered through the keyhole she saw it was dark on the other side.

'I don't think he's there,' she said as she straightened up. 'Unless he likes to sit in the dark, that is.'

'Knock anyway!' called Gary from his place as lookout at the end of the corridor. 'Say you have a question about the Herbology homework if he answers.'

Dom knocked twice, but there was no answer, so she turned the doorknob and pushed the heavy oak door open, jumping inside and pulling Nukes in after her. It was very dark inside the office, the candles having been extinguished leaving only the low-burning embers of the fire. Nukes pointed his wand at it and they burst suddenly into lively flames, creating flickering shadows on the stone walls.

'Very atmospheric,' said Nukes, and he grabbed Dom by the waist, kissing her suddenly. She leant into it for a moment, and then remembered where they were and pushed him away, hurrying to the desk.

'Don't mess about, Nukes.'

Longbottom's desk was not exactly neat and ordered - stacks of parchment, files, and odd junk covered all but a space about a foot square in the centre. Dom suppressed a groan at the sight of it - she knew from her many visits into the study that Longbottom was untidy, but she'd been hoping that he wouldn't have accumulated much in just the few days since the start of term. Clearly this wasn't going to be as quick and easy as they'd hoped.

'We could try Summoning them?' suggested Nukes. 'Accio tickets!'

There was a rustling from under one pile of parchment, and then a piece shot out and smacked Nukes in the face before dropping into his palm. He frowned down at it, and then said: 'Not our tickets. It's for some play by a bloke called "Shakespeare"?'

'He was a Muggle playwright like four hundred years ago,' said Dom. 'Okay, "tickets" wasn't accurate enough. Let's try - Accio Concert Tickets!' There was another rustling, and now two pieces of parchment shot out from under another pile. Dom grabbed them hopefully, but then groaned when she saw what they were for. 'Two tickets to the National Wizarding Philharmonic. Merlin, Longbottom is a geek.'

Her words were drowned out by a yell from Nukes, who dived for the desk suddenly. She hadn't noticed that her spell had made the pile that the tickets were under unsteady, and the two of them watched in horror as it toppled and not only fell, but hit the stack next to it and pushed that over too. The parchment fell everywhere, spreading out across the floor and Longbottom's chair.

'Fuck!' cried Dom.

'Just pick it up!' They started to hurriedly shove the papers together into rough piles, but as they did they heard Gary's voice outside the door saying:

'Well sir, the thing is, why _exactly_ does the Mandrake plant's scream hurts you, I've never quite -.'

Dom looked at Nukes, panicked, and considered just jumping straight into the fireplace and escaping that way. He seemed to have the same idea, as he grabbed her hand and started pulling her towards the hearth, abandoning the scattered papers and any hope of getting the tickets. They'd just have to sit in Diagon Alley or something until they thought Longbottom had gone to bed.

They perhaps would've got away with it, if Dom hadn't slipped on a stray ink bottle and twisted her ankle. She fell to the floor with a yelp, and before Nukes could pick her up again, the door of the study opened and they looked around to see Longbottom stood there, with Gary peeking out from behind his robes looking very scared. Dom had always rather liked Longbottom, finding him relatively fair and easy-going compared to other teachers, but as she lay idiotically on the floor clutching her ankle with Nukes bent over her, she suddenly felt very, very scared of him. And fear wasn't a feeling that Dom usually felt.

For what felt like minutes, they all stayed frozen in their positions, until Longbottom spoke.

'What in Merlin's name are you two doing?' Neither of them answered, just stared dumbly back at him, and he moved further into the room. Gary stayed hovering around the door, as if worried that if he stepped in he'd be tarred with the same brush as Nukes and Dom. 'I suppose you're looking for these, then?'

He pulled two pieces of parchment out of a pocket of his robes, and Dom saw with a sinking heart that it was the concert tickets. They could've likely blagged their way out of it if he didn't have the tickets, but now that he was holding them the guilt was written all over their faces. He sighed, deeply, as if very tired.

'Professor, we -,' started Nukes, but Longbottom held up a hand to stop him.

'Just sit down. Both of you.'

Nukes headed towards one of the chairs in front of Longbottom's desk, but as Dom tried to stand she found her ankle was unable to take her weight, and she fell back onto her arse with a yelp. Lonbottom stared down at her.

'Have you hurt yourself?'

'My ankle. I think it's sprained?'

He pointed his wand at it, and she felt a deep warmth spread through it, and then the pain was gone. She got gingerly to her feet and went to sit down beside Nukes. Gary started to step slowly into the room.

'Ah, Donnelly. I imagine you're an accomplice of these two but I can't exactly prove it so just go with a warning. Oh, and in case it was an actual question, the pitch of the Mandrake's cry affects the nerve pathways of the body, especially the brain. In an infant Mandrake this only causes incapacitation, but a mature Mandrake has the strength of cry to fatally affect the human body,' said Longbottom. Gary nodded, and hurried off. As the door swung shut behind him, Nukes silently squeezed Dom's thigh in reassurance.

Longbottom waved his wand at the papers still on the floor, and they flew up to land in neatened stacks on the desk. He placed the two tickets on the space in front of him. 'Now, would you two like to offer your own explanation, or shall we go with my educated guess in that you were looking for these tickets and, as they are for this evening, hoping to escape through my fireplace with them. Yes, I'll take your silence to mean that you agree with the latter. Which means that I can ask you quite what the hell you think you're playing at?'

His voice was dangerously low and quiet. Dom stared down at her knees. There wasn't a viable explanation, really.

'I am sure that you know that you were breaking about a dozen school rules! Entering a teacher's office without permission, going through a teacher's papers, intent to use Floo without permission, intent to steal -.'

'It wasn't stealing, they were our tickets!' blurted out Dom, instantly regretting that she'd ever spoken. Longbottom's eyes flashed, and he stood up to tower over them.

'You two are in your OWL year! Which means that if you don't stop messing about and getting yourselves into trouble for no real reason you might as well kiss goodbye the exams in the summer and, for that matter, any future at all! So, as you seem to have so much free time in your Saturday evenings, you can spend the rest up until and including Halloween doing detentions, and count yourselves lucky! Next time I find you stepping out of line it will be suspension. Now get out of my sight!'

They stood up, but as they headed for the door Longbottom called out: 'Oh, and just so you know, I will be reporting every misdemeanour from now on to your parents.'

* * *

It didn't take long for Victoire to hear about her younger sister getting into trouble, mainly because she had a Prefect meaning the next morning and Molly hardly seemed to be able to contain herself before telling her. As much as she tried not to, she couldn't help disliking her cousin a little as she seemed to take so much enjoyment from regaling her with Dom's downfall. It was as if she'd forgotten that Dom was in fact Victoire's sister.

But she didn't dwell for long on the subject - Dom getting into trouble was such a common occurrence that she no longer saw it as any great event. Her sister got into trouble, was punished, toed the line for a short while and then forgot about her punishment and leapt right over the line again, usually to be caught by another adult. It was a cycle that she was long used to.

She didn't have time to worry about the antics of her younger sister, anyway. Schoolwork was piling up no matter how organised she was about it, and what felt like every evening - although it was really only three a week - she had the duties of being Head Girl to carry out. Jonny was wonderfully helpful and did pull his own weight, but through September and the first half of October there seemed to be constant issues for her to sort out.

It didn't help that her friends kept having parties, both quiet and raucous, which she kept having to miss. Part of her having to miss them was that she had so much work, but the other reason was that often when she had a free evening, she used it to see Teddy, and it couldn't be revealed that he was sneaking into her room every other evening. She trusted her friends to keep the secret, but there was no way to get Teddy from her room to anywhere else in the Ravenclaw Tower or the castle without going through the Common Room. She supposed that he could change his features to look like another Ravenclaw, but that could so easily go wrong and cause confusion, and the consequences of him being caught weren't to bear thinking of.

But when she heard from one friend that there was going to be a masked ball in the Room of Requirement on the night of Halloween for everyone in the upper years, she decided that something had to be done.

She was so much in anticipation to see Teddy and tell him her plan that she virtually jumped on him the moment he stepped out of her fireplace. 'Teddy!' He jumped, looking round at her in shock with the expression that he always had when he was accused of doing something wrong.

'What? Have I done something?'

'No, no it's nothing like that! Teddy, there's a masked ball on Halloween in the Room of Requirement!'

'So?'

'So - it's perfect! You can have a mask and costume on, change your hair so its more anonymous, and no one will notice that you shouldn't be there!' She frowned at him. 'You don't look excited.'

He shrugged. 'I was kind of hoping that we'd do something on Halloween that was, you know, together. Just us'

She forced herself not to glare at him in exasperation. 'Teddy, everything we do is _just us_. I never get to go to any parties that my friends throw - and that's fine, because I love hanging out with you. But I don't want to miss my last ever Hogwarts Halloween! I know I'll regret it if I do. But if you don't want to come, that's okay, I'll just go with friends.'

'No!' He stopped her, grabbing her hands in his. 'Alright, Victoire. I'd love to come. Sorry I wasn't so enthusiastic before, but I've got my own news.'

She frowned up at him, blowing a stray lock of hair out her face. 'What is it?' His grin was confusing; it made her simultaneously pleased and suspicious. 'Teddy?'

'I quit my job! Quit the maintenance team!' he announced, his hair flashing to bright gold as he did. Victoire let out a shriek of happiness and leapt into his arms, kissing him boisterously on the lips. She asked him if he had another job instead. 'For the interim, I'm working as a barman in the Dancing Gypsy, at the top of Knockturn Alley. It's a little rough, but there's an indie scene and loads of music. And its better than the Gringotts job.' Victoire didn't care what his new job was, she was just so pleased that he wasn't in his old one.


	4. Chapter 4

Warning - Scenes of a sexual nature

 **Chapter Four**

Despite wanting with every muscle in her body to hit Molly every time she saw her, throughout September and October Dom applied the tactic of just completely ignoring that she existed. It worked in that it stopped them from talking to each other, but it didn't prevent Dom from feeling hot anger whenever she set eyes on her cousin. It did not help that they were still sharing a dormitory.

A consequence was that she ended up spending just about every moment she could with the guys in their dormitory, going back to her own simply to crawl into her bed and sleep. She was tempted to just sleep in Nukes' bed, but she didn't want to give Molly further ammunition while she was carrying out her detentions, as it might just tip Longbottom over the edge and cause him to suspend her and Nukes.

The detentions did start to drag. Every Saturday night, at eight thirty sharp after dinner, they served detention with a teacher. It changed around just about every week, as Longbottom understandably didn't want to spend two months of Saturdays carrying out detentions with them. So with Foxworth they did lines, with Professor Kettle they cleaned and ordered the dungeon where the Potions classes were - a surprisingly difficult and disgusting job, as just about every substance possible was spilled in that room - and with Longbottom himself they swept out all the greenhouses. Very soon, this routine started to drag.

They had to keep working until they'd finished their work, which sometimes kept them up until past eleven, and Dom had already realised that they would probably miss the Halloween Ball. She wasn't so interested in the ball side of it - pretty dresses and dancing had never been her thing - but it was being organised by the Slytherins, who always threw a good party no matter what one's tastes were, and she never missed an opportunity for debauchery and drunkenness.

'Alright, you two, I think that is adequate for tonight,' said Ms Stotworth, the Librarian. Dom glanced at Nukes and rolled her eyes. It was past eleven thirty; the vole-faced woman had kept them ordering the shelves for over three hours. They shoved the last few books onto the shelves and hurried out the room while Stotworth went at minute speed to each candle and blew it out.

'Old bint,' muttered Nukes as the door swung shut behind them. 'She made me order the whole bloody section on defensive magic! I thought my brain was going to just die of boredom.'

Dom laughed. 'We've only only got one more left - in a week's time, we'll be done.' She grabbed his shoulders and jumped onto his back for a piggyback. 'Let's go for a smoke before heading back to the Common Room, I want a breath of air.'

'Merlin Dom - you want to wander the corridors at night? That's against the _rules_ ,' said Nukes in a mock-serious voice. 'We can't break those!'

'Rules are there for a reason!' said Dom, imitating the pompous voice Molly always used whenever she was trying to tell them off for something. They both started laughing, but a sharp cough made them freeze, Dom instinctively holding onto Nukes tighter.

'Um - Dom - can't breathe,' gasped Nukes, pulling on her arm. She realised she'd been constricting his neck. Nukes turned towards where the cough had come from. 'Peeves, is that you?' Contrary to the attitudes of most of the students and staff, Nukes and Dom really rather liked Peeves. They both groaned in unison as Molly stepped out into the lamplight.

'Hello Molly,' said Nukes. Dom said nothing. She realised she was still on Nukes' back, but she didn't care enough about Molly to stand and face her. Molly smiled at them both, supremely self-satisfied, her arms crossed below her glinting Prefect badge.

'What are you two doing out in the corridors?' she asked. 'Don't even bother coming up with excuses, I heard you two talking. You're going to go off and smoke, aren't you. I think that you should do some more detentions, as you obviously haven't got the message yet.'

Dom started trying to get off Nukes' back so that she could attack her cousin, but he just held onto her more tightly, and she couldn't reach her wand without letting go and just falling off. Nukes, somehow, stayed calm. 'We're just walking back to the Common Room, Molly, I don't know where you got that idea that we'd go off to smoke. We'd never.'

'I heard you!' she snapped, her neck going rather pink.

'And did anyone else? I don't know how you'd prove that.'

Molly opened her mouth to protest, but they were interrupted by hurried footsteps headed towards them. Joby Holloway, the other Gryffindor Prefect, joined the scene; he was a nice, fairly nondescript boy who was utterly oblivious of the tension. Molly pursed her lips as she turned to face him.

'Weasley, can we please finish patrolling? I can't stop until you do, and I'm going to miss the entirety of the Gobstones Final in the Common Room. I've got three sickles on it!' he said, pushing his slightly sweaty hair out his eyes. He seemed to register Dom and Nukes for the first time. 'Oh, hey guys, what's up? Are you breaking curfew?'

'No, we're just heading back to the Common Room after our detention,' said Dom quickly, before Molly could get a word in. Her cousin's neck darkened to crimson as her eyes narrowed behind her glasses.

'Oh, cool, let's all go back then,' said Joby. He grinned at them as they started walking - he was the sort of kid who was so unlike Dom and her group that he always seemed slightly in awe of them, especially Nukes who was twice his size. Dom dropped to her feet and the three of them started walking together, with Molly trailing behind.

'So, Joby, what's this Gobstones Final?' asked Nukes, winking at Dom. Without hesitation, Joby set off into a very detailed and long-winded explanation of the tournament he and his friends had set up, which included telling them all about the technique involved in Gobstones and how skilled the girl he was backing was. In fact he kept talking all the way back to the Common Room, and would have continued once they were in through the Portrait Hole if he hadn't had to hurry over and join the famed Gobstones Final.

* * *

Unlike her cousin, Roxanne Weasley was thoroughly enjoying the first few weeks of her Fourth Year. She had not got in trouble yet so had no detentions to serve, she was probably the most popular girl in her year if not the school, and what's more, her boyfriend was the coolest guy. Danny Hale was everything she could ask for in a guy. He was on the Quidditch team, which not only gave him status but made him unbelievably fit. He was cool, and popular, and so much fun.

According to the older students, Fourth Years weren't allowed to go to huge parties like the Halloween Ball, as they didn't want to have to be looking after fourteen-year-olds. Only Roxanne figured that as it was a _masked_ ball, no one would recognise her as she went in, and once she was inside no one would care.

So the only issue left to solve was what she and Danny would dress up as; they had to have a couple's costume, otherwise what was the point? Only, she didn't want to go as any magical characters as that would mean either wearing robes or wearing some stupid suit to be a vampire or centaur or something. And she did not think that she could wrangle being a sexy goblin. Dressing up as Muggle characters would be easier, but then she had to find something that was so well known that people wouldn't be constantly asking her what her costume was, because that was just plain annoying.

She'd enlisted the help of Robert Wood, as his mother was Muggleborn so he knew all about Muggle culture. She knew a lot too, as she got all the Muggle magazines and had watched all their romance films and chick-flicks, but she wanted second opinions for her ideas.

'How about Marilyn Monroe and JFK?' suggested Robert. She gave him an irritated look. He wasn't being very helpful; he was slumped in a chair opposite the fireplace, his feet up on the coffee table and his chin virtually on his chest.

'Just a little bit ill-fated, don't you think?' she retorted. He shrugged, waving his hands in a vague way. 'Do you even care at all? How about Brangelina?'

'What is that, a cake?'

'Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. But if you don't know what I mean by it, everyone else certainly won't. Merlin, is there nothing I can be? Maybe I should go with Marilyn and JFK, at least they _were_ cute while they were a couple.'

Robert gave a snort of something close to derision, but before she could ask him what on earth his problem was, Danny appeared and sat down beside her. 'Danny!'

'Hey babes,' he said huskily, leaning forward to kiss her. He'd just come out of Quidditch practice and she could feel the warmth of his muscles through his t-shirt, slightly damp still with sweat and rain. The sweaty part was actually not very nice and a little bit icky, but she was happy to ignore that for the muscles. She kissed him back, wrapping her legs around him. He was a good kisser, if a bit forceful, and she didn't notice Robert leaving as they started to make out.

'So, Danny,' she said after a while, pushing him away to catch her breath. 'We're going to the Halloween Ball together, what do you think our costume should be?'

'Ugh, I dunno,' he said, shrugging and trying to kiss her again. 'Whatever you want, babes.'

'Okay, we can be Marilyn Monroe and JFK.'

He nodded and started to kiss her neck, which she liked, although she hoped he wasn't going to leave a lovebite as it was so annoying to have to wear the school scarf all the time to cover it. No one, magical or Muggle, had come up with a concealer strong enough to hide hickeys.

'Oi, you two, no PDA!' Jamie Fitzpatrick smacked Danny on the head with a rolled up Daily Prophet, before dropping into the chair that Robert had vacated. Roxanne rolled her eyes at him.

'Just because you don't have a girlfriend…'

'Excuse me, who wants a girlfriend? I can have all the girls I want,' retorted Jamie, running a hand through his hair to tousle it and, to prove the point, smiling at a pair of Third Year girls walking past. They both burst into giggles and ran off to the dormitories. 'See?'

'They're thirteen, Jamie,' said Roxanne scathingly.

'I'm not going after _them_ , I'm proving a point - whatever. I've got this essay to do, Kettle's going to give me a detention if I'm late with homework again. So you two can get back to hooking up if you don't mind the general social judgement.' He stood up and strolled towards the dormitories, acknowledging the waves and hellos from girls - and boys - in the Common Room. Roxanne rolled her eyes, but when she looked at Danny he had an odd expression on his face which if she didn't know better she would have called envy.

Placing a hand on his chest, she leaned up to kiss him again, and after a moment's pause he relaxed and turned to kiss her back, holding her close to him until they were broken apart by a sharp rap on the head each. Roxanne looked around to see her cousin Molly holding a rolled-up _Daily Prophet_ and glaring.

'No public displays of affection, you two,' she snapped, addressing them both but looking at Roxanne. 'Or I'll owl your parents, Roxanne!'

'Just because you're dry and single!' retorted Roxanne, her voice accidently loud, and Molly reddened as half the Common Room looked round at them. She started to feel guilty as Molly marched off, but then Danny burst out laughing and she joined in.

* * *

Teddy looked very sexy in his costume, Victoire thought as she watched him out the corner of her eye while doing her hair. She was being an angel - of course - and so he was her devil, complete with blood red hair, a red and black suit, and a black pitchfork. His mask was plain black, moulded to look slightly like a skull. She was wearing a silver silk dress, and had matching delicate white wings for her white mask.

'Do you think anyone will recognise me?' asked Teddy, standing up and going behind Victoire to make faces at himself in the mirror's reflection. She didn't think so - his makeup was so dramatic, and he'd changed his features slightly so that they were very angular, almost gaunt. As he started to pout over her head, she awkwardly elbowed him away.

'Stop it, Teddy, I'm trying to concentrate,' she said, giggling a little. Her hair was being piled and fastened on top of her head in an intricate and complicated array of little braids and curls, and she didn't want it all to suddenly tumble down again. She'd done her makeup so that her face was even paler than usual, with white glitter on her eyelids that matched sparkles scattered on her arms, her fingernails painted white. 'Alright, I'm done.'

She checked herself in the mirror and then stood up, slipping into a pair of heels while Teddy fastened the wings to her back. The mask had been charmed to not need ribbons - it fitted magically onto her forehead and cheekbones - and was much fancier than Teddy's, formed from filigreed wire that had been cut and curled to form lacy patterns

'How do I look?' she asked, smiling at him and batting her sparkling eyelashes playfully.

'Beautiful.' He bent and softly kissed her on the lips, although she didn't let it go any further as, shallow as it sounded, it would be very annoying to get her makeup smudged. 'Hey, I've got an idea.' Pulling his wand from his pocket, he waved it at her, and she glanced down to see her bare arms had started to glow faintly. When she looked in the mirror, she saw he'd cast the spell so that she seemed to have a halo of light behind her head, catching and winking off the glitter on her hair and skin.

It was a ten minute walk to the Room of Requirement from the Ravenclaw Tower, and when they arrived Victoire wondered for a moment if they were early, as the corridor was dark and seemed to be inhabited only by the suits of armour along the wall. They paused for a moment, and as they did a familiar voice rang out in the passageway.

'What do you mean we're too young? We're Fifth Years!'

Teddy took Victoire's hand, grimacing at her, and they strode down the corridor to join the scene. Their cousin Roxanne was stood with some guy in front of two suits of armour, who at closer look had a pair of boys inside them. The boys stared impassively back at Roxanne and her date, who shifted awkwardly from foot to foot. Roxanne, on the other hand, let out a huff and tossed her head, which had a large blonde wig covering her hair.

'I recognise you,' said one boy, pointing with a gauntleted hand at Roxanne's date, 'from the Gryffindor Team. You're that Beater who gave our Seeker internal damage last year. And you're Fourth Year.'

Roxanne opened her mouth to make some retort, but Victoire cut her off. She and Teddy were stood in the shadows behind them and Roxanne wheeled around in shock when she said: 'Roxanne, I know you're too young for this party. Go back to the Gryffindor Tower before you break curfew - you can come to the Halloween Ball next year.'

As she looked down at her cousin - who seemed on the verge of stamping her foot in frustration - she realised she was dressed as Marilyn Monroe, in a white dress with a deep v neckline. She supposed that Danny Hale was supposed to be JFK. It seemed a little morbid, she had to admit.

'Fine,' snapped Roxanne, giving Victoire and Teddy a death stare and grabbing Danny's arm, dragging him off down the passageway. The armoured bouncers chuckled to themselves as they ushered Victoire and Teddy into the party.

Stepping from the dark, cool corridor outside into the Room of Requirement was like stepping from a church into Time Square; the noise and light smacked them so hard they stopped for a moment to stare. The Slytherins had out-done themselves - it was better than ever. The room had been transformed to look like the hall of a haunted mansion, complete with pillars and portraits that flashed from person to skeleton and back again. Cobwebs were strewn everywhere, and the bigger ones had fake spiders on them that would drop down, tickle someone on the top of the head until they yelped, and then shoot back up out of reach again.

At the end of the room there was a DJ booth up on a platform, along another wall ran a bar run by employed Fourth Year Slytherins. The room was lit by jack-o-lanterns which glowed purple, red and orange, casting everyone a strange fiery hue. Cauldrons floated at elbow-level, and when they looked they saw they were filled with sweets and chocolates. As Teddy put an arm around Victoire's shoulders, she couldn't help but laugh at the sight of it.

Roxanne was not feeling any of the Halloween joy as she marched back to the Common Room, dragging Danny behind her. She was angry at the bouncers, angry at the fact she was born three months too late to go to the party, and most of all angry at her cousin and that damned Teddy. She'd boasted to everyone about how she was going to get into the party and now she was going to have to go back into the Common Room and deal with them laughing at her.

'Roxanne, stop,' said Danny finally, grabbing her and forcing her to turn around and face him. 'What's up with you? Are you really this upset about the stupid party? We'll make our own party!'

'I don't want our own party, I want to go to the Halloween Ball!' snapped Roxanne, pulling her mask off and shoving it onto the nearby bust of Gilmus the Giggler. Danny just laughed and grabbed her waist to pull her against him. As he kissed her she was pressed against the wall of the gallery, the painfully stone hard against the back of her head. He slipped a hand through the slit in her dress to slide it up her thigh; she could feel the growing hardness in his crotch against hip.

She tried to pull away from the kiss but there was no space behind her so she forced her head to the side, gasping for breath through bruised lips. He started to attack her neck with kisses. 'Danny - no, not here.'

'Come on Roxanne,' he murmured, his hand still stroking her inner thigh. 'I want to do it. We're nearly fifteen…'

'No, Danny!' She managed to slide out from under him, the wall scraping her back roughly. He tried to grab at her but she dodged it and, choking back tears, almost ran away. She wasn't quite sure where she was going as she ran through the castle, as she tried to choke back tears so much she could barely breathe. She was so preoccupied she ran straight into someone, who caught her just in time before she sprawled to the floor.

'Hey, Roxanne!' She shoved the person away, hoping beyond hope that it wasn't Longbottom or some other teacher. When she saw that it was Nukes she'd ran into, with Dom beside him, she let out a sigh of relief a second before bursting into tears. Nukes and Dom glanced at each other, baffled.

'I wanted - party - didn't - I - Danny - he wanted - not ready …' After this her sobs renewed and she became completely unintelligible, but Dom seemed to get the gist of it and put an arm around her as she cried.

'It's alright, Roxanne, it's okay you're alright now. Let's get you back to the tower.'

Abandoning any hope they had of going to the Halloween Ball, they turned around and started to head up towards the Portrait Hole. As they crossed the Common Room, Roxanne wearing Dom's hoodie to try an avoid notice, they were accosted by an indignant Molly, who glared up at them from under her blockish red fringe.

'What was Roxanne doing out of the tower after curfew?' she asked sharply, narrowing her eyes at Dom and Nukes. 'You two were probably involving her in one of your _schemes_ , leading her astray and getting up to no good!'

'Once again, Molly, you show unbelievably stupid and obtuse mind. Roxanne was going to ask Longbottom for some help with her homework when she got severely spooked by one of the meaner ghosts who came up behind her. We happened to be coming out of our detention so brought her back up here again,' said Dom, and with good timing Roxanne burst into renewed sobs. Molly's expression flashed from anger to sheepish pity, and before she could say anything more Dom and Nukes had swept Roxanne past and away.

Meanwhile, the Halloween Ball was in full swing back at the Room of Requirement, the DJs ramping up the music as the partygoers became steadily more and more drunk, the crowd on the dance floor gyrating in time to the deafening beats. Victoire was dancing with Teddy, oblivious to the fact they were the centre of attention as her glow drew eyes in the dim room. Teddy's hands were dark on her silver waist, his eyes glittering beneath his black mask as he smiled down at her.

She went up on tiptoes to kiss him, but as she did they were interrupted by someone very small running straight into Teddy's leg, almost knocking him over. Victoire thought it was a house elf gone rogue or drunk, but when she looked down she saw it was in fact her little cousin Albus, who was now attempting to escape off into the crowd with Scorpius Malfoy. She reached out and grabbed him by the collar.

'Albus!'

He twisted out of her grip but turned to face her, looking only a little sheepish. Scorpius hovered somewhere behind him. Victoire tried her best to look very stern, but the sheer minuteness of the two boys, and the fact they'd managed to floor her boyfriend who was now picking himself up off the dance floor, meant she was struggling not to laugh.

'What on earth are you doing here? Your curfew was hours ago! I'd have expected this of James but not of you, Albus.' He shrugged, his penitent expression marred by a small and mischievous smile. Victoire scanned the crowd, and then spotted one of the Slytherin Prefects, a girl called Nancy Ramspew. The girl's face fell when she saw Victoire leading Albus and Scorpius over, and she glared furiously at them.

'Fine, yes, I'll take them back,' she sighed, pushing the two boys ahead of her and following them out the room.

The party lasted several more hours, until finally slowing at well past midnight, the remaining students trickling out slowly in groups or pairs as the music changed to softer tunes. Victoire and Teddy, however, had left about half an hour before this so that no one would get a good look at Teddy in the light.

Back in Victoire's room, Teddy had bent to try and stoke the smokey embers of the dying fire, while Victoire carefully detached her wings, hanging them up in her wardrobe. As she did, she glanced over her shoulder at Teddy, lit up by the flames of the fire. He'd taken off his jacket and mask and shifted his features back to their normal lines, his nose and jaw clear-cut and strong in the flickering light of the flames.

'Teddy, can you unzip me?' she asked, her voice low and soft. He turned away from his revery of the fire and rose as she walked over to him and turned so she was facing away. His hands were cool on her skin as he unzipped her, his fingers tracing the delicate line of her spine.

He stopped at her waist, and she could feel the slight tremor of his hands as he let go and stepped away. She turned slowly to face him, looking up at him as she slid the silvery dress slowly off her body, letting it pool on the floor. Underneath, she was wearing only her underwear, a matching set of white lace trimmed in black, her feet still in the heels.

His eyes were wide as he stared down at her, his mouth slightly open. She reached up, the glitter still on her hand catching the light, and gently touched his open lips before tracing her hand around to the back of his head, running her fingers through his soft, curling burgundy hair and pulling him down for a kiss.

It started soft and slow, their lips caressing each other gently, but then it gained urgency and force, their tongues dipping in and out of each other's mouths, tasting them, as their hands felt each other's bodies. Teddy grasped Victoire's hair for a moment and then let go, his hands instead going to slide down her back and waist and hips to grasp under her thighs, lifting her as she wrapped her legs around his waist.

The bed was closer than they thought and they hit it clumsily, tumbling down on top of it and each other as they entwined, their lips coming together and then apart as they gasped for breath. As Victoire threw her head back and panted Teddy started to trail kisses down her neck, her fingers pulling at his shirt until he pulled it off himself. The lines of his torso were fine, engraved almost, the ribs sweeping to meet the sternum, which dipped down and the line continued on to his navel, where a trail of dark hair led down to the waistband of his trousers.

Deciding that the trousers were entirely unnecessary, she unbuttoned them and started to pull them down his legs as he unclipped her bra. Becoming entangled, she slid further onto the bed and pulled him with her, throwing away the redundant bra as he kicked off his shoes and socks and climbed on top of her.

His mouth explored one breast as his hand felt the other, and she wrapped her legs around him again so that they were pulled closer together and the erection that tented his boxers rubbed against her clit, making him groan into her tit.

'Merlin Victoire,' he murmured as he pulled away. She giggled, and in revenge he started to kiss, maddeningly slowly, down her stomach towards the lacy trim of her underwear, pulled taut between her hipbones. She moaned at the teasing, especially when he pulled off the lacy underwear and placed another kiss in exactly the right spot, making her jump as if shocked.

'Teddy!' she gasped, squirming at the movements of his tongue against her clitoris. As she climaxed he moved back to kiss her on the neck, before looking her straight in the eye. In answer she pulled his boxers down his legs and he slowly pushed himself inside her, filling her up with his length as she moaned, arching her back to press against him, her nails digging into his back as he thrust inside her.

They were hurried and frantic that first time, their groans of pleasure loud as Teddy struggled to hold on until she came again and, a second later, he gave a final thrust and released himself inside her.

They collapsed on the bed beside each other, sweaty and panting for breath. Victoire wrapped herself around him, resting her head on his chest. They lay without speaking for a while, Teddy gently stroking the line of Victoire's waist, until Victoire moved and started to kiss Teddy again, straddling him. Playfully, she started to grind against him, but to her surprise she found him hardening again beneath her.

This time they went slower, lasting longer as Victoire dipped up and down on him as he held her waist or felt her tits, sometimes their lips coming back together again. When, finally, they exhausted themselves, the dawn was nearly glimmering on the horizon and they fell almost instantly to sleep together.


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay so we've got some more drama in this chapter - things are heating up a little! Hope you enjoy...**

 **Chapter 5**

Her hair needed to be cut, Dom decided as a stray lock poked her in the eye yet again as she pulled on her Quidditch robes, the fringe falling down over her eyebrows. She was tempted to just ask Kendra, the Seeker, to do it but knowing Kendra she was likely to charm the hair so it grew to waist-length. She herself had a long chestnut mane, and Dom had no idea how she dealt with it on the pitch.

Basil Hartley was pacing about as he always did, his rather square face set into a determined expression, and Dom wondered again what Abby, his girlfriend and her dormmate, saw in him. Sure, he was well over six foot tall, muscled, and a Quidditch player, but he was so … _boring_. She shook her head and bent down to tie up her boots.

'Okay, Gryffindor Team!' The referee, Mr Fairlude, poked his head around the door and gave them all a cheery thumbs up. 'On the pitch in five!'

'Right, everyone, gather round,' said Basil Hartley in his deep, monotonous voice. 'You've all been training really hard and I know you're going to do really well out there. Potter, this is your first match, so follow the lead of Fitzgerald and Montgomery. Halliwell, make sure you don't just focus on one area of the pitch, keep scanning all the time. Hale, Weasley, you hit fine but try and aim a little more so we don't have to dodge, okay? Bit ironic if you hit us!' There were some half-hearted chuckles from the team, which seemed to satisfy him. 'Let's go.'

'Bat, Weasley?' Danny Hale held out her bat to her, smiling. She grabbed it and turned away to pick up her broom. Ever since the night of the Halloween Ball, she'd been unable to relax around Danny. She'd never got it out of Roxanne what had happened between them, and the next morning all seemed to be back to normal again as if nothing had gone wrong, but Dom just didn't trust him anymore, and it made her very paranoid about the fact her cousin was in a relationship with him. Something about him just didn't strike true. Still, he was an excellent teammate and she didn't want anything to come between them on the pitch, so she quietly decided to just ignore her misgivings.

The first frost of the season had come a few days ago, and on the morning of the match the grass still crunched underfoot, the bright sunlight glinting off the thousands of iced blades of grass. In front of Dom, James was just about bouncing up and down next to Elijah Fitzgerald as they paraded out onto the pitch to a chorus of screaming cheers and boos. Opposite them, the Slytherin team processed out, and the two teams lined up on each side of Fairlude, Dom eyeing her opposing Beater, a boy called Garmley whose beard consisted of seemingly random tufts of hair.

'AND HERE WE HAVE IT,' boomed Gary Donnelly, who was the commentator for the game, 'THE FIRST MATCH OF THE HOGWARTS QUIDDITCH SEASON, AN ESTEEMED TOURNAMENT IN WHICH EACH HOUSE BATTLES FOR THE QUIDDITCH HOUSE CUP! AS YOU CAN SEE, EACH PLAYER IS CURRENTLY HOVERING TEN FEET IN THE AIR TO AWAIT FOR THE RELEASING OF THE BALLS - NO INNUENDO INTENDED -.'

'DONNELLY!' yelled Longbottom, to general laughter from the spectators. Dom allowed herself to snigger a little.

'SORRY, SIR! THE SNITCH IS RELEASED FIRST, SIGNALLING THE START OF THE MATCH … THREE … TWO … GO!' Kendra and the Slytherin Seeker, a skinny girl whose surname was Clare, sped off into the air after the snitch, closely followed by all six Chasers going for the Quaffle. 'OOH - NEARLY A NASTY ONE THERE AS MONTGOMERY AND HAKE RISK COLLISION IN THEIR ATTEMPTS TO GET TO THE QUAFFLE. NOW SELWYN IN POSSESSION, PASSES TO GELDRY, BACK TO SELWYN - NO! INTERCEPTED BY POTTER, WHO IS NOW SHOOTING DOWN THE PITCH TOWARDS THE GOALPOSTS. POTTER, A NEW ADDITION TO THE GRYFFINDOR TEAM, OF COURSE COMES FROM A LINEAGE OF EXCELLENT PLAYERS ON BOTH SIDES OF HIS FAMILY, AND CERTAINLY APPEARS TO HAVE INHERITED THE GIFT! AH BUT THE SLYTHERINS ARE CLOSING IN, HE PASSES TO FITZGERALD, TO MONTGOMERY, TO FITZGERALD, BACK TO POTTER - POTTER SCORES! TEN POINTS TO GRYFFINDOR AND A FABULOUS BEGINNING FOR THE LATEST POTTER PLAYER!'

Dom, who had been shadowing the Chasers in case any Bludgers came that way, held out her hand and high-fived James as he flew past, smiling at the ecstatic expression on her cousin's face. The crowds were going wild, but the Slytherins had possession now so Dom sped off after a Bludger, intent on hitting it at Selwyn who had the Quaffle.

'SELWYN IN POSSESSION, HEADING STRAIGHT TOWARDS KEEPER HARTLEY. PASSES TO GELDRY, TO CARSTAIRS, BACK TO SELWYN. HALE AND WEASLEY HAVE COME TOGETHER, LOOKS AS IF THEY'RE PLANNING TO PULL OFF SOME MANOEUVRE - YES! HALE STRIKES A BLUDGER, FOLLOWED QUICKLY BY WEASLEY WHO JUST GIVES IT SOME TOPSPIN, AN EXCELLENT MOVE THAT WAS ONLY JUST DODGED BY SELWYN. SELWYN HEADED FOR THE GOALPOSTS, NOTHING IS GOING TO STOP HIM NOW, HE SHOOTS - HE SCORES! KEEPER AND GRYFFINDOR CAPTAIN HARTLEY SEEMED A BIT SLOW ON THE UPTAKE THERE AND IT'S TEN POINTS TO SLYTHERIN!'

Dom, hovering a few feet above the other players, found herself agreeing with Gary. Hartley had seemed to have been half asleep on his broom, and the Quaffle flew past his hands with inches to spare. But there wasn't time to look any further into it, so she hoped he was just taking some time to get into the match.

For the next thirty minutes, the two teams vied for the lead, bouncing it between each other with neither getting more than two goals in a row. Meanwhile, the two Seekers seemed to be having no luck with the Snitch beyond a brief spurt of speed from Clare, which caused huge excitement in the stands but came to nothing apart from making Clare nearly collide with the central Gryffindor goalpost.

'SO WE HAVE A VERY CLOSE MATCH PLAYING OUT HERE, BOTH TEAMS SEEMING EVEN IN THEIR ABILITIES, AND IT'S CURRENTLY SLYTHERIN SIXTY, GRYFFINDOR FIFTY WITH NO SIGN OF THE SNITCH - OH, SPEAK OF THE DEVIL!' Kendra Halliwell had suddenly shot off down the pitch with Clare close on her heels, and when Dom squinted she saw the gold glint of the snitch down below her. 'MY GOD THIS COULD END THE MATCH, SLYTHERIN AND GRYFFINDOR SEEKERS ARE GOING HEAD TO HEAD - NO INNU-'

'DONNELLY!' roared Longbottom again.

'THEY'RE NECK AND NECK GOING DOWN THE PITCH! IF SOMEONE CATCHES THE SNITCH NOW THAT ENDS THE MATCH!'

Dom swooped down after one of the Bludgers, which was bouncing about near the Hufflepuff quarter of the pitch, but she couldn't hit it at Clare without risking hitting Kendra. She smacked it to Danny, who was between her and the two Seekers, and then raced down the pitch to catch up with it again. Clare and Kendra had reached the end of the pitch, and Dom realised that one of them was going to have to swerve to avoid the goalposts. For a few seconds it seemed like neither of them would, and then at the last second Kendra broke off and tumbled to the right as Clare shot between the posts and on.

Danny yelled wordlessly at Dom as he hit the Bludger towards her but she didn't need his shout; not even looking at the Bludger, she hit it with all her might after Clare. The Slytherin girl was just coming round the end of the pitch to face them again, and found the Bludger coming straight towards her. The Snitch was virtually within the girl's hand, but she had no option but to dodge the Bludger, and by the time she straightened up again the Snitch was gone.

'AND ANOTHER STAR MOVE FROM THE GRYFFINDOR BEATERS, SAVING THE MATCH FROM AN ALMOST CERTAIN SLYTHERIN WIN. AND NOW POTTER IS IN POSSESSION, TO FITZGERALD, TO MONTGOMERY - GRYFFINDOR SCORE!'

'Oh no,' muttered Albus, leaning against the edge of the stands and watching his brother perform a loop-the-loop. Scorpius raised his eyebrows at him. 'It'll make James insufferable if Gryffindor win. He's bad enough as it is. You should see him when Monopoly comes out.'

'Monopoly? What's that?' asked Scorpius, pulling his scarf tighter around his neck.

'It's a Muggle board game where you try and bankrupt the other players by buying up property and stuff. James always wins and he has this really annoying dance that he does.' Albus demonstrated something similar to a hakka, except with jazz hands. Scorpius laughed, and then pointed at the pitch, where Kendra Halliwell had suddenly dived towards the ground. There was a universal groan from the Slytherins to match the excited screams of the Gryffindors, as Clare was too far away to catch up with Halliwell in time.

'No!' cried Albus, as Kendra clumsily rolled and pulled out of the dive to avoid the ground ten feet below, and then rose back into the air holding her fist aloft. It took a moment for the spectators to realise what had happened, but then Donnelly yelled:

'HALLIWELL HAS THE SNITCH! EIGHTY TO SLYTHERIN, TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY TO GRYFFINDOR! GRYFFINDOR WINS!'

The Gryffindors erupted, the entire house cheering and jumping up and down as the two teams came down to land, the Gryffindor players hugging each other. Roxanne and Gracie hugged each other, yelling Danny's name.

'I'm going to go meet him!' said Roxanne to Gracie and Zach, pushing her way through the crowds and then hurrying down the stairs towards the pitch. The noise outside became suddenly muffled, and as she reached the bottom of the stairs she was surprised to hear a voice coming from the framework of the stands. It was a man's voice, and it seemed angry.

Stopping a few steps up from the bottom, she peered through the mesh of wooden bars and pillars to try and see who it was. She vaguely recognised the voice but couldn't put a face to it. From her position, she could see the back of a tall, burly man with greying hair cropped short, standing in front of someone.

'What do you mean you're not as good as the other Chasers? You're just not trying hard enough, you're slacking around like you always do. I was captain when I was your age, youngest one in over half a century, and you can't even make the team. Merlin, you're getting more like your whore of a mother with each day you damned boy. You're going to get yourself on the team, understand?'

'Yes, Dad.'

Roxanne froze where she was stood, grabbing the banister. That was Robert's voice! But his father was the famous Oliver Wood, Quidditch superstar who'd brought the England team to the semi-finals of the Quidditch World Cup in 2006! He couldn't be speaking like this!

She tried going lower down to see if it really was Robert, but the step below creaked loudly and the voices suddenly stopped. Roxanne had no choice but to carry on walking and hope they didn't think she heard anything.

As she reached the bottom step Oliver Wood emerged with Robert trailing behind him. Oliver was smiling as if nothing was wrong, but Robert wasn't so convincing and avoided Roxanne's eye. 'Ah, hello there, you're the daughter of George Weasley aren't you? Yes, he was an excellent player, with his twin. Did you enjoy the match?'

'Y-Yes sir,' said Roxanne.

'Mm, yes. I'm just visiting to see how Quidditch is doing. Your cousin, the Beater, she could have a career if she wanted, as could that other one, the Hale boy.'

'He's my boyfriend,' said Roxanne, swelling a little with pride despite herself.

'Is he really? Well there's talent there. Sadly Robert here doesn't seem to have inherited it,' said Oliver, frowning down at his son who reddened to his hairline, scuffing the ground with his trainers. Roxanne didn't know what to say.

'Roxanne? Is that you?'

The Gryffindor Team had arrived, sweaty and rejoicing, and all seven of them stopped dead at the sight of Oliver Wood, silhouetted in the light of the archway behind him. Everyone except James, who had met Oliver before and so marched up to say hello to him, shaking his hand.

'Hello James, well flown just now,' said Oliver. The ice had broken and the rest of the team gathered around to speak to the former star Keeper, now chief advisor to the current team and superstar. When they dispersed a few minutes later and Roxanne looked around for Robert, he had disappeared.

She ran over to Danny, putting her arms around his neck and kissing him. She was so glad that they had sorted out that little blip they had at the start of the month - it was clearly a complete misunderstanding, she'd overreacted, and he was being so sweet and attentive to her now. She knew he was happy to wait until she was ready, he was such a gentleman.

There was a party now up in the Gryffindor Common Room, but as all the years were there it wouldn't be full of drinking or any other such illicit activities - at least not in the Common Room. Dom was in fact rather glad of it; she was so tired after the match that she didn't think she could manage alcohol. However by the time she'd showered and made it up to the Gryffindor Tower the party was in full swing, and the noise and action energised her a little.

'Hey.' Nukes appeared holding two Butterbeers, handing one to her. 'Um, seems that this is the strongest stuff we can have, apparently we're not allowed anything stronger with kids running about. You were great out there, by the way.'

'Thanks,' she said, taking a bottle and kissing him. She found that she didn't really feel like joining in with the celebrations - James appeared to be doing a striptease on a table - and so the two of them went up to hang out in Nukes' dormitory instead. In typical boys style it was a bombsight of mess, although she rather enjoyed that as her own dormitory was always kept immaculately clean and tidy. The other girls would glare at her if she so much as left her muddy trainers out.

The other boys were all downstairs still, so Nukes and Dom quickly got to making out on his bed, enjoying the rare privacy. Dom had kissed a few boys before but she loved how Nukes kissed more than any of them - confidently, but without shoving his tongue down her throat or being like a washing machine. Some boys seemed to see it as a race to get one's tongue out.

'Do you … do you want to do it?' she said after a while. Nukes paused, his lips hovering an inch above her right tit which he'd just kissed, his hand between her legs where he'd been rubbing to make her moan with pleasure. They were both topless, and she'd been unzipping his trousers, which were now halfway down his legs.

'Do … _it_? Are you sure?'

They'd been going out for several months now, and Dom had been musing about it for a while, but now on that bed she realised she was absolutely certain. She nodded. 'Have you got any Contraception Potions?' They were little vials of bright pink potion. Nukes climbed off her and opened the drawer of his bedside table, rifling about in the mess and then pulling out a couple, handing one to her. It tasted bitter, like a pill.

She pulled Nukes back down on top of her, biting his neck to leave a lovebite as he touched between her legs again, this time sliding his hand beneath her pants. She pulled his own trousers down now, giggling as he kicked awkwardly to get them off his feet. His erection had made a tent in his boxers.

'So … let's just … are you …'

'Just go for it, Nukes,' she said.

'Okay. Tell me if you want me to stop.'

* * *

Across the castle in the Ravenclaw Tower, Victoire had been having similar such fun with her own boyfriend, although she and Teddy were being a little more adventurous than Dominique and Nukes and were seeing what sex was like in the bath. As it turned out, very enjoyable. Afterwards they curled up, wet haired and giggly, in blankets in front of the fire.

'I'd better get back,' said Teddy suddenly, checking his watch and standing up. 'It's nearly eight.'

'I thought you had the evening off?' said Victoire, frowning up at him as he towelled his hair and pulled on his clothes. He shook his head, flicking his straggled hair about.

'Only until eight thirty, there's a band performing at nine and they want me to help out with the rush.'

'How long do you think you're going to be working in the Dancing Goblin?'

'It's the Dancing Gypsy. And I don't know, I quite like it there. Musicians and bands are constantly coming through, it's a great place to get scouted,' he said. 'And anyway, pulling pints and stuff is fun.'

'But it pays you fifteen Sickles a day!'

'I get tips too. And Merlin, Victoire, is money all you think about?' snapped Teddy. 'Look, I enjoy it and I'm not in danger - why isn't that enough for you? It's like you always want me to be some rich, high-flying Auror or something, and I'm not!'

He grabbed his jacket from where it had been flung over the chair and strode into the fireplace, disappearing with a flash of green fire and a harsh 'the Dancing Gypsy!'. There was a second's pause, and then a knock came from the door between her bedroom and Jonny's. Wrapping the blanket tighter around herself, she swept her hair back off her face and went to answer it. It was Jonny, looking a little sheepish.

'I … I heard raised voices and just wanted to check you were okay,' he said, peering past her shoulder into the room. 'Oh, there's no one here.'

'It was just a friend, they went back into the Common Room before you left,' she replied, attempting to sound flippant. 'Don't worry Jonny, it was nothing, just a … heated debate.'

'Right.' He nodded slowly, and then seemed to notice she was only wearing a blanket. 'Oh, my, I'll let you go … get dressed.' His ears a deep crimson, he hurried off and let her shut the door. Victoire shut and locked it again, before walking back to stand in front of the fire, letting the blanket fall to the floor. For a moment she thought Teddy was going to walk back in again, that they'd both apologise and everything would be alright again, but the flames stayed golden instead of green and no Teddy appeared.

The next morning she had a meeting with her Head of House, Professor Foxworth. All Seventh Years had meetings with their heads of houses once a month to keep track of their studies and any career plans they had. For Victoire and any other Seventh Years planning to become Healers, it meant stressing over work that they had to do and furiously attempting to gain summer internships.

So it was not useful for Victoire when she arrived five minutes late, having overslept and so thrown on clothes, lost any hope of breakfast and ran straight to Foxworth's study. The Transfiguration teacher raised her eyebrows at her when she walked in, gasping for breath with her clothes and hair askew.

'Sit down, Victoire,' said Foxworth, indicating to a seat in front of her. 'Do try and arrive on time next month, please. Now, have you looked at those brochures I gave you last time?'

Victoire froze in her seat. Foxworth had given her some leaflets and brochures about different internships one could apply for in the summer, specialising in a bunch of departments. She'd taken them, shoved them in her schoolbag, and completely forgotten about them. Her panic was clearly evident on her face as Foxworth said:

'I see you have not. I know you are busy, Victoire, but do please try and keep a track on things? This is important. You have to apply for internships by the end of this year - and I mean New Years, not the summer - so the clock is ticking. I have the extra essays that you've submitted here, which are good, although you should maybe work a little harder on theories of Healing Potions. Is there an area of Healing that you're interested in already, without looking at the leaflets?'

'Well … maybe diagnosing?' suggested Victoire.

'Hmm … yes … very competitive and difficult to get into, but I think you're in with a chance. As you well know, Trainee Healers do a rotation of different areas of Healing: Diagnostics, Implementation, Mediwizarding, and Nursing. Only the creme-de-la-creme of the trainees make it into Diagnostics, you'd have to work very hard. So, go and fill out the applications for internships _now_ , so that you don't forget. Oh, and remember your next essay to Professor Longbottom on the treatment of plants and herbs prior to use in Healing is due on Wednesday?'

'Yes, Professor.'

She hurried out the study and back up to her room, finding the brochures she'd been given at the bottom of her schoolbag. It was a bundle of about thirty different leaflets and envelopes tied together with string, so she pulled it all apart and laid it out on her desk. Some of them she binned immediately - looking after magical creatures that contained healing properties in their bodies was the sort of thing her sister Dominique would want to do, not her. On the cover of that leaflet was a picture of a boy and girl her age, wearing filthy and muddy overalls and holding up Nifflers. Certainly not her sort of thing.

The Nursing internships also seemed a little dull; just changing sheets and bedpans from the brochure, although she filled in a form for one anyway. In fact she decided to fill in an application for just about every internship there was apart from the ones that seemed completely awful, and so she was still filling out forms a couple of hours later when Jonny knocked on the door.

'Hey - what're you up to?' he asked, frowning down at the brightly coloured and flashing leaflets that covered her desk. She explained, indicating to the pile of completed applications waiting to be sent off and the ones that she still had to do. 'Merlin, that's a lot. I don't have to do anything like that.'

'Really? What do you want to do?' she asked, enjoying the excuse to lay down her quill and stretch out her aching hand. Jonny shrugged, leaning against the doorframe.

'I don't know, probably go into the Ministry. like the Minister's Office or the Department for Magical Transportation maybe. I would go for International Cooperation but I don't speak languages that well. But I just have to get a job wherever there's an opening when I leave school. There're no internships or anything. Anyway, I'll let you get back to it.'

* * *

It started to snow in the last fortnight of term at Hogwarts, starting with a few light flakes at midday on Tuesday and quickly turning to great thick balls of powder that built up in drifts around nightfall, to the excitement of just about every student and many of the teachers in the castle. The lake froze over and a record number of students were punished for lateness or skipping lessons due to the snow.

Dom and her gang basically abandoned lessons altogether for that last two weeks, preferring to spend their time pulling whatever stunt they could with the snowy grounds and, as their absence became more and more obvious, avoid Professor Longbottom. They figured that if they could avoid him until the end of term, he'd forget about their truancy over Christmas. Only they weren't banking on him actually coming out into the snow to look for them.

They were midway through building a gigantic snowman resembling Professor Caesar, complete with slicked back hair and close-set eyes, when Dom felt a hand press down on her shoulder and turned to see a red-faced Longbottom glaring down at her. He'd somehow crept through the snow without any of them hearing until he was right behind them.

Gary Donnelly, who was making one of the boys, Harper James, hover twenty feet above them to carve out the snowman Caesar's face, jumped with surprise at the sight of Longbottom and broke his spell. With a yelp Gary fell onto the snowman, destroying it, and then tumbled to the ground to land at Longbottom's feet. He started to berate Harper until he too noticed Longbottom and fell silent, scrambling to his feet and attempting to brush the huge quantities of snow off his clothes and face.

'Fifty points from Gryffindor, and I'll be writing to all your parents,' said Longbottom in a low, dangerous voice that Dom knew meant that they should not protest. Sadly Gary did not know this.

'But sir, none of us are meant to be in lessons at the moment!' he exclaimed. 'We all have frees!'

Longbottom turned on him, towering over the smaller boy until he squirmed in the broken snow. 'Yes, Donnelly, congratulations at noticing that none of you are playing truant at the moment. Of course that does not disguise the fact that I have registers from all your teachers which mark you absent from every lesson in the previous eight days!' he said, his voice rising steadily to a roar. 'Step one foot further out of line, any of you, and will be suspended from school! Now get back to the Gryffindor Tower, I need to write some letters to your parents.'

'Bugger,' muttered Dom as they all ploughed up towards the castle. She'd be in for a bollocking when she got home now.

'It's alright,' said Nukes, putting his arm around her. She narrowed her eyes at him.

'Alright for you, your dad doesn't care about school, he'd let you tour the world with him if he could.' Nukes' father was in the Weird Sisters band, which was still doing sellout tours of the wizarding world.

'Sure, my father doesn't care, but my mother does, and she's the one that got the rights to control my education in the divorce. That's why I'm here at the moment and not in Thailand with the band.'

'So why aren't you worried?' she asked. They'd reached the castle and paused for a moment to clear snow from their robes and hair. Dom waved her wand at her cloak and it started to steam as the snow evaporated from it, leaving it blissfully warm.

'I'm not seeing her this Christmas, remember? I'm staying with you and then going to join my dad when the band reaches Los Angeles for Christmas,' said Nukes. 'By the time Mum gets back from her business trip, I'll be back here again. Worst I'll get is a Howler, and I'm used to those.'

Dom wasn't really sure what to say. It was annoying that her parents were always on her back about her schoolwork, but at least they were around and caring. Nukes' mother and father seemed to be constantly absent and not particularly putting any effort in to make sure he was okay. They'd divorced when he was little, over a decade ago, and were both hugely rich and successful in their own separate careers, with Nukes becoming an accessory. But it wasn't Dom's place to comment, so she just nodded and silently followed him up the stairs to the Gryffindor Tower.

Meanwhile out on the grounds, Albus and the other First Year Slytherins were still enjoying their freedom in the snowy afternoon with an epic snowball battle that they were winning against the Gryffindor First Years. Popping his head out above the parapet of the Slytherin fort, Albus spotted the bright red hed of his cousin Rose. Swinging his arm in an arc, he shot a snowball straight at her, hitting her in the back of her head and almost knocking her over.

'Did you see that?' he crowed, leaping down from his position on the wall - the fort had two stories - to join Scorpius and the Zabini twins on the lower level. The Slytherins had created the most epic snow fort Albus had ever seen, complete with crenellations on the parapet and buttresses. The Gryffindor tactic of everyone just throwing themselves at the fort was not working, as although there were more of them they all just became trapped in the ditch that had been created with two raised banks, allowing the Slytherins to cover them with snow while staying fairly warm and dry.

'Some of them have got out!' called a Slytherin boy from the other side of the fort. 'Empty the barrels!'

From the parapet above the boy, two girls tipped a vast quantity of snow that had been gathered on a piece of board onto the Gryffindors below, almost completely submerging them. 'There's more where that came from!' called one of the girls.

The battle could've gone on for hours, Albus thought, but a couple of the Prefects decided that they were all about to get pneumonia and broke it up, ushering them all inside again. As he jumped out of the fort, Albus noticed the snow-covered head of his cousin Rose and hurried to catch up with her. He hadn't seen much of her recently and wanted to chat a little.

'Rose! Hey, Rose!'

His cousin paused, said something to the group she was with, and then turned to face him as he ran up to her.

'What do you want, Albus?' she asked, and her voice seemed a trifle cool to him. He frowned at her as he caught his breath, wondering if it was because of the snowball.

'I just wanted to come chat, as we haven't for a while. Sorry I hit you on the head with the snow.'

'I didn't know it was you, but that's alright,' she said, her voice still stiff and unfriendly.

'Are you alright? You're acting strangely.'

'I'm fine, just cold. I'd better get back to my friends, we're going to go make hot chocolate.' And with that she turned around and marched away after the other Gryffindors without a backward glance.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed, will update soon! Now to make me very happy, please review the chapter and/or click the favourite and follow tabs!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

By the end of term the front drive at Hogwarts had been turned by numerous feet from thick powder to a vicious icy slick a hundred metres long, and on the last morning Roxanne stood at top of it with her luggage, staring down in horror. All the way down before her she could see students slipping, sliding, and falling flat on their arses. Hardly anyone could stay upright for more than a few metres.

Her little brother Fred and cousins James and Louis had already gone past them, howling with laughter as they slid down the slope on old bits of wood that they'd purloined from the caretaker, knocking people over as they passed. Roxanne didn't really feel like that was her style.

'Do you think we can go round?' she asked Jamie Montgomery, who was stood next to her and looking down the slope as well.

'Not unless you want to take a twenty minute detour through waist-high snow,' he said, hitching his rucksack so it was more secure on his shoulders. 'Come on Robert, let's go.' He clapped Robert Wood on the shoulder, and together the two boys started to gingerly make their way down.

'They're not doing that bad,' said Gracie, but the words were hardly out her mouth before Robert's feet went out from under him and he landed hard on his side. 'Ouch! I must've jinxed it. How in hell are we going to get down, Roxanne?'

'Well I don't know about you two, but do you feel like a ride Roxanne?'

She turned around to see Danny had come up behind them holding his Firebolt Generation 3.0. He jumped onto it and it hovered in the air in front of Roxanne who giggled and took his hand, sitting up behind him. Taking a tight hold of her bag with one hand, she wrapped her other arm around his waist, letting out a little cry of surprise as he set off. He flew close over Jamie, who let out a few swearwords to show his amicable annoyance at Danny, but Roxanne's attention was caught by Robert, who said nothing but looked up at her with an expression that seemed somewhere close to pain.

They reached the bottom way ahead of all their friends, of course, and Roxanne was breathless when they landed, her face numbed slightly by the chill air. As she started shivering Danny put his arm around her and pulled her close, kissing her on the lips. 'Let's go find a compartment?' she suggested as she stepped away.

The train was mostly empty still, but as they walked along the path towards the platform she noticed James, Fred and Louis stood huddled together, with Fred holding something to his face. As she walked past he pulled it away for a second and she saw his forehead was stained red.

'Merlin, Fred!' she cried, starting to hurry towards him.

'He's fine, I'm sure,' said Danny, grabbing her hand. 'Come on, I want to go hang out with you on the train.'

'You go ahead, I need to check Fred is okay,' she insisted, pulling her hand out of his grasp and striding over to her little brother. 'Fred, what happened?'

'It's nothing, Rox,' he said in a relaxed tone, pressing the wad of cloth to his forehead again. 'I just slipped and grazed my head, don't worry about it I'm not exactly going to die.' He huffed with annoyance as she pulled the wad away from his head to inspect the damage. It wasn't a big gash, luckily, and there wasn't as much blood as she'd first thought, but it was still a cut. She looked around and spotted Victoire stood near the entrance to the station further ahead, ushering students through and checking everyone off on a big register. Ignoring Fred's protests, she grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him over to Victoire with James and Louis following at their heels.

'Victoire, you know healing spells, right?' she called out as they drew near, pushing Fred in front of her and making him pull the cloth away from his forehead to show her.

'I know the theory,' said Victoire. She handed the register to a nearby Prefect and pulled her wand out of her coat. 'I can't really see the wound properly through all this blood - _Tergeo_!'

'Ouch! Mind where you're poking that thing,' exclaimed Fred as Victoire accidentally jabbed him with the wand.

'Sorry,' she said absentmindedly, as the sticky congealing blood siphoned off him. 'Hold still and I won't poke you. _Episkey_!'

'It itches,' complained Fred, pulling away from Victoire and reaching up to touch his forehead, where the gash had reduced to a pinkish line.

'That's all your skin cells knitting back together,' said Roxanne. 'Thanks, Victoire.'

'Anytime.'

The journey back to London was fairly uneventful, apart from James getting reprimanded for attempting to steal from the Food Trolley. It was with some consternation, however, that Dom stepped off the train to face her parents on the platform; she knew they'd be ready and waiting to lecture her on her marks, her conduct, her number of detentions, and probably a bunch of other things she hadn't even thought about.

They were stood with Teddy Lupin on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters - she supposed Teddy was there for Victoire - and although they hugged her there was an undeniable tension, especially when Nukes appeared. He was staying with them for the first week of the holidays. Louis, oblivious to everything as ever, chattered away about the end of term. Dom winced as he brought up the snow and her father turned to her and said: 'Yes, we've heard all about your antics in the snow.'

Victoire had a bunch of duties to carry out, such as walking down the train to inspect the compartments, so they were the last of the Weasley-Potter clan to leave for home, Disapparating straight from the platform. Dom, who was underage so had to travel by Side-Along, felt her mother's fingers dig in, vice-like, to her forearm before they twisted away and she kept hold for a few seconds after they all landed, gasping for breath, in the front garden of Shell Cottage.

It seemed that her parents didn't want to lecture her about her behaviour at school while Nukes was in the house, as he was so intertwined with it that it would be impossible not to tell him off as well, and anyway Dom suspected that he was half the problem in their eyes. So the first week of the holidays passed in a taciturn way, with Dom and Nukes attempting to spend as much of their time as possible out of the house.

They did have one way to pass the time which they thought was excellent - sex. They'd been having a lot since the evening after the Gryffindor-Slytherin Quidditch, and now the factor of attempting not to be caught was made much more exciting. Dom had become proficient in spells that would sound-proof her bedroom and the spare room that Nukes was sleeping in, but her mother and little brother had an annoying habit of bursting in without knocking. One night Nukes rolled under the bed a second before the door swung open to reveal her mother, and Dom had to pretend to be asleep.

Matters came to a head two days before Nukes was supposed to leave, resulting in a complete and catastrophic breakdown in relations in the family. Dom and Nukes had spent most of the day messing about on the dunes of the beach down below Shell Cottage, chasing each other and generally acting like idiots. They'd only returned home again when it had got dark and they didn't want to risk falling into the sea, the two of them fumbling about in the sandy grass and giggling as they followed the lights in the windows back to the house.

As Dom opened the door and let it swing back in front of them, she instantly knew something was wrong from the silence. At this time in the afternoon, her mother and father should be in the kitchen starting the supper, and her siblings should be making some sort of noise whether good or bad. Slowly, she stepped into the hall and Nukes followed her, shutting the door.

They found her parents in the sitting room, stood side by side by the fireplace. Dom wondered whether they'd been unable to hold back the lecture they'd been storing up until Nukes' departure and had decided to just let it out. Her siblings were nowhere to be seen. Finally, she decided to just light the cauldron and find out what was wrong.

'Mum … Dad?' she said. 'Is something wrong.'

'Sit down, Dominique. And you, Jim.' They always refused to call him Nukes. They sat down together on the sofa. 'Dominique, what is this?'

Her mother pulled out a narrow bit of parchment, shoving it into her hands. Dom felt her stomach writhe horribly as she looked down at it, her face and hands becoming clammy. It was the receipt for an owl order of Contraceptive Potions that she'd made, with her signature at the bottom. Her mind desperately scrambled for some excuse, but it seemed to have simply died, perhaps from shock and embarrassment.

'And I suppose you cannot explain these?' As her mother pulled out the clear bag of a dozen-odd empty vials, each with a label stating 'Contraceptive Solution' on the side, Dom knew that it was over. In the silence, she heard Nukes swear under his breath beside her.

'Young lady,' said her father. 'What in Merlin's name do you think you're doing?'

Her mother quickly took over from him, sensing that he was weak when it came to disciplinary action. 'For years, Dominique, we have put up with your laziness, your bad behaviour in your lessons, your disrespect to adults and your complete disregard for your future and your exams but I never thought we would have to deal with anything like this! I never thought we wood have to de-ahl wiz owre daughter acting like such a slutty girl! Ow dare you cern-duct you-self like zis! We ahh ar-shamed wiz you!' As she got angrier, her mother's voice rose and became steadily more accented, until anyone else would have struggled to understand her.

'You're one to talk!' Dom retorted angrily. Her mother's beautiful face became blotchy.

'What?'

'I said, you're one to talk! Don't lie, I know what things were like in Beauxbatons back in the 90s - Aunt Gabrielle's told me all the stories!' snapped Dom. 'So you can't turn around and say you're ashamed of me for what I'm doing!'

'Young man,' said her father, breaking into the fight and turning to Nukes. 'I think it's time for you to leave.'

'Yes, sir.'

'And you will not be fraternising with our daughter again. I will write to Professor Longbottom and ensure it,' he continued.

'Wait, no, that's not fair!' cried Dom, as her father took Nukes by the collar and led him upstairs to pack.

'Stay here!' screamed her mother but she ignored her, hurrying after her father and her boyfriend.

'You can't stop me from seeing him!' she yelled as they went up the stairs. 'We've done nothing wrong! You just take any chance to have a go at me, don't you, it's not like this with Victoire or Louis, you never find anything wrong with them! Victoire had -.' But she stopped abruptly at the sight of Victoire, standing in her bedroom doorway. She was about to reveal that Victoire had also lost her virginity in Fifth Year, but realised that whatever the issue she had with her parents, she wasn't about to throw her sister under the dragon.

'We never find anything wrong with them because they never do anything wrong!' snapped her mother, following all of them up. Victoire quickly withdrew into her room again. Louis had had the sense not to emerge.

Dom's father waved his wand and all of Nukes' things flew into his rucksack, which was then shoved at him. 'Get out the house.' Nukes turned towards Dom as if he wanted to say something, but a look from his father made him hurry down the stairs and out the house, the door swinging shut behind him. Dom turned on her parents.

'I heard you two were cool when you were young!' yelled Dom. 'But now I know that you're nothing more than a pair of boring old hypocrites with poles stuck so far up your arses its messed with your heads!'

'You arhh a disgrace to zis fam-il-eh!' roared her mother. 'I will send you away!'

'Good, because I hate it here! I wish you weren't my mother!' screamed Dom back. The slap threw her off-balance - not so much from force, but from how unexpected it was. She fell back against her bedroom door, clutching her cheek and staring in shock at her mother. Quickly, she slammed the door closed and sealed the lock with a spell, jamming her desk chair under the handle for good measure.

'Dominique! Dominique open this door!'

Luckily, she had her wand with her. Grabbing a holdall off the floor, she quickly stuffed it with clothes and all the money she could find, along with some parchment, Ever-Inking Quills and a notebook.

'Dominique!'

'Fuck you!' she screamed, before opening the window and climbing out down the wall, the stones used to build it craggy enough for handholds. She had reached the ground and was vaulting the garden wall before her parents even made it into her bedroom. By the time they realised what had happened, she had hailed and was already stepping onto the Knight Bus.

'Welcome! I am Terry Timpson, your conductor! Where in the world you like to go, esteemed young miss?' said the gawky-looking conductor.

'Um - Diagon Alley! Just go!'

The doors squeaked shut behind her, she had one last glimpse of Shell Cottage, and then with a bang the bus was gone. The conductor, Terry, stared at her. 'Journey'll cost ya ten Sickles, miss.'

'Right, sure.' She fumbled about in her bag, pulling out her purse and handing the boy a handful of silver coins. He frowned at her for a moment, wrinkling his nose, and then shrugged and shoved the coins into a battered old cash desk stood where a glove compartment would be on a car. Dom suddenly thought of something. 'Um … Terry … did a boy step on soon before me? Big guy, cropped hair, had a black and purple rucksack?'

'Yeah … yeah we did see a guy like that … just dropped him off though, few seconds before you got on. Somewhere in London, can't remember where, terrible memory I've got.'

He continued rambling on but Dom left him, picking her way back to find a seat. She sat silently seething at her parents, her internal rants broken only when she had to stop herself from being thrown off her chair by the bus stopping. She wondered where Nukes had gone. Probably to join his father out in L.A. She hoped the fallout that she left wasn't too bad for her brother and sister. She'd probably ruined Christmas for everyone, but she blamed her parents for that. She'd rather spend Christmas alone than spend it with them.

She knew that she couldn't stay in the Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley - Professor Longbottom's wife owned it, and so her parents would know within the hour and be there to drag her home again, kicking and screaming. When she arrived outside the Leaky Cauldron she pulled up the hood on her jacket and hurried through the crowded pub, breathing a sigh of relief when she made it outside again without being noticed.

Diagon Alley was filled with people doing their last-minute shopping, so no one gave her a second glance as she walked down it, wondering where she could stay. It was chilly and wet in London, the drizzle and wind chilling her. As she passed the entrance to Knockturn Alley, her eye was caught by the slowly swinging sign for "The Dancing Gypsy". Eager to get out of the cold, she hurried inside.

'Ello, young miss, what can we do f'you?' asked a man, who had a bald head but a thick beard and was wearing a Christmas jumper over his robes.

'Um … do you have any free rooms?' she asked, rubbing her hands together to warm them.

'Well we not got much left, all the nicer ones been booked y'know.'

'That's alright, I don't need much.'

'Fine, fine, a'right fifteen Sickles for the night, Room Eight. I'll throw dinner in as a Christmas special, you look a bit peaky. You go drop y'stuff.'

He handed her a key from a huge ring on his belt and bustled off to tend to some customers. Dom went towards a rickety-looking staircase that led up to a landing overlooking the bar, but as she stepped onto it she heard a familiar voice call out her name. It was Teddy, holding a tray of empty glasses and staring at her. She swore under her breath.

'Dom? What're you doing here?' he asked, going over to her on the pretence of clearing a nearby table. 'Are you … staying here?'

'Yes. No. I don't know,' said Dom. 'I had a huge argument with Mum and Dad, they're acting like complete dicks and I don't want to stay in that house anymore.'

'What, so you're spending Christmas here?'

'I guess. I'm going to write to Nukes and find out whether he's gone to stay with his dad early. Maybe he'll invite me out. But Teddy, you can't tell anyone I'm here, you have to promise!'

'Dom!' groaned Teddy, his hair turning a shade of green. 'Come on! I'm practically living in your house, I can't just sit there silent while your parents are trying to find out where you are! Just go home and talk it through with them, I'm sure they're worried sick about you and will forget what they're angry about once you turn up.'

She stared obstinately at him. 'I can go find somewhere else to stay.'

'No, don't do that. If you're insisting on running away I'd rather you were here than anywhere else. Okay I'll keep your secret. But you have to promise to write to Victoire so that everyone knows you're safe, at least. You can borrow one of the Dancing Gypsy's owls. Promise?'

'If you promise to not tell anyone I'm here.'

'Okay. You're going to ruin my triple-A credit with your parents, you know.'

'Oh, you lost that when you turned up that time to a restaurant in ripped jeans with blue hair,' laughed Dom. 'See you, Teddy.'

* * *

Louis and Victoire had been sat opposite each other at the kitchen table for nearly an hour in silence, while their mother raged about the house and their father followed her about trying to calm her down. Louis had needed to pee for a while now but was worried that if he tried to get to the bathroom across the hall he'd get caught in his mother's way, which would be very dangerous indeed.

Finally their mother's stomping stopped and from the squeaking of springs they heard her throw herself into the armchair in the sitting room. Victoire pointed towards the hall and silently the two of them got up and crept out to listen to what their parents were saying.

'Maybe we should go look for her, she's probably gone to Diagon Alley,' said their father.

'Non! She'll be back, I know she will!' said their mother sharply. 'I cannot believe the behaviour of zis one, Bill!'

'We'll work it out, I'm sure.'

'I have half a mind to send her to stay with my muzzer in France! Get her away from that boy!'

'I'm writing to Neville, she'll stop seeing him.'

'Oh, but you know what these teenagers are like, she is so sneaky she will find a way around it.'

There were footsteps and Victoire and Louis moved away from the door, but it didn't open. Their father seemed to be looking out the window as he said: 'It's very dark. Are you sure we should not go look for her? What if she's stuck out in the cold?'

'She will be back!'

But the afternoon drew on into the evening, Victoire and Louis eating toast in the kitchen as their parents still hadn't emerged from the sitting room and Victoire didn't feel like cooking. Nine o'clock came, ten o'clock, eleven, the chimes ringing out from the clock on the mantlepiece, but no Dominique reappeared.

Finally Victoire and Louis went upstairs to go to bed, although neither of them were tired. They were both silently wondering whether Dom really had gone. As she entered her bedroom, Victoire's eyes instantly fell on the barn owl stood on the windowsill. From across the room she could instantly make out Dom's spiky scrawl.

Crossing the room in two steps she grabbed the letter from the owl's talons and ripped it open, hurriedly scanning the words.

 _Victoire,_ it read, _I know you'll have to show this to Mum and Dad so I won't tell you where I am. But I'm safe and I've found somewhere to stay. There's no need for anyone to worry about me. Dom._

'Merlin's left ball, Dom,' groaned Victoire, throwing the letter down onto her dresser and striding back out onto the landing. 'Maman! Papa!'

'What is it, Victoire?' Her father's voice was hoarse as he called up the stairs.

'Dom sent me a letter.'

'What? And you didn't tell us?' Her mother appeared beside her father. 'Give it to me!'

'I only just got it.' Her mother was halfway up the stairs by the time she retrieved it and snatched the slip of parchment out of her hands, scanning it and then crumpling it up into a tight ball. 'She's alright, Maman, we don't need to worry so much anymore.'

'You're not always right, Victoire!' snapped her mother, so harshly it made her recoil. 'Go to bed! Now!'

Louis heard the commotion from his bedroom, and even as all became quiet he found himself unable to sleep. Deciding to get a glass of water, he swung his legs out of bed, wincing at the chilly floorboards, and crept out his bedroom. The house seemed silent, but as he passed his parents' bedroom door he heard a strange sound and froze. Slowly, he crossed the landing to outside the door, and felt a strange weight fall into his stomach. It was his mother, crying.

'I'm a terrible mother …'

His father's voice was low and husky. 'No … Fleur … you're not a terrible mother.'

'Bill! I have a daughter who hates me!'

The sobbing renewed and Louis, forgetting why he came out, crept back to bed again.

* * *

Teddy was very quickly wishing with every cell in his body that he was able to reverse time and take back what he'd said thirty seconds ago. The silence in the kitchen of Shell Cottage was terrifying, as everyone turned to stare at him in disbelief. It was Victoire who spoke first, and her voice made him crumple inside.

'What do you mean, "at least she's safe"?'

He floundered, desperately searching for a way to get out of the situation he'd fallen blithely into, while everyone continued to stare at him and his brain apparently abandoned him. He'd simply been trying to comfort Bill and Fleur, who seemed distraught, and he hadn't quite thought through how much he'd actually been told about the situation.

'I mean … you said … I thought …'

'You've seen her, 'aven't you?' Fleur's beautiful face was drawn and haggard, her eyes sunken as if she hadn't slept in days and the usually fine lines around her eyes and mouth deepened. 'She 'as spoken to you. Where is she?'

'Tell us, Teddy,' said Bill, stood by the kitchen countertop. 'Tell us now.'

'She's in the Dancing Gypsy,' said Louis sharply. 'That's where she went last night. Teddy was working there, how else would he have seen her?'

Teddy said nothing, but his expression showed them all that Louis was right. Without a word, Bill and Fleur strode out the kitchen. In the silence they left, the sounds of Floo powder from next door were clear. After a moment, Teddy looked round at Victoire. At the sight of her expression his heart seemed to fill with lead instead of blood. He'd never seen her look at him like that. She pushed back her chair, the scraping deafening, and strode out of the kitchen, the back door slamming behind her. Teddy almost fell over in his haste to follow her.

'Victoire - Victoire, please!' he called, hurrying across the garden after her. 'Let me explain!'

'No, Teddy!' Her voice was so harsh that he stopped several feet away, struck dumb and staring. 'You can't just explain! That's what you always do, you always explain and I always have to forgive you. You can't explain you way out of this one!'

'I'm sorry, Victoire,' he said. He tried to take a step towards her but she backed away, holding up her hands. 'Dom made me promise not to tell-'

'Oh _Dominique_ made you promise! Well that makes it alright then. It doesn't matter then that I barely slept at all last night. I lay awake wondering where on earth my sister was, whether she was in danger or hurt, because you didn't have the basic decency to come tell us where she was! You knew, you _fucking_ knew!'

'I made her send the letter to say she was safe.'

'Just stop, Teddy! Just stop! She's a fifteen year old girl, Teddy, I don't care if she'd thrown herself to the floor to beg you or held a gun to your head, you should've told us! You should've run here as fast as Floo could take you and told us! I can't even stand to look at you, Teddy. I put up with so fucking much, and now you do this?'

'Oh, so that's what its about then?' snapped Teddy. 'If I worked in some office of the Ministry where I was bored out my fucking mind but got a fat paycheck, then maybe you wouldn't mind?'

'Don't talk like that, Teddy, don't try to turn it back on me!'

'I will, because for some reason in this relationship I am always to blame and you can do no wrong!'

'That's not true -'

'You're so fucking materialistic, Victoire, you wouldn't care if I was suicidal as long as I had a nice comfy nine-til-five and enough money for you to spend. Merlin, you're hardly more than a whore!'

The wind had picked up, whipping Victoire's silver-gold hair about her face, but her words were clear when she spoke:

'Fuck off, Teddy.'

He stared at her, regretting now his choice of words. But he couldn't take them back now, and anyway, he'd been wanting to say it for months. He left her out in the sandy patch of grass that they called a garden and stalked back through the house, ignoring the questioning look Louis gave him and continuing on through, grabbing his jacket as he went. As he stepped through the front garden gate he looked back for a moment to see if Victoire had followed him, and then Disapparated from the empty roadside.

* * *

Bill and Fleur had never been to _The Dancing Gypsy_ before, and in the predominantly youth-filled bar the owner looked rather surprised to see them pop out the fireplace. It was different to _The Leaky Cauldron_ or _The Three Broomsticks_ \- the walls were covered with a mixture of angsty or psychedelic posters, different sorts of guitar hung from the ceiling above their heads and in one corner a long-haired teenager crooned into a microphone about taking narcotics.

They cornered the bearded owner as he started to wipe the bar. 'We're looking for a Dominique Weasley? She should be staying here,' said Bill. The man shrugged.

'Don't know anyone o'that name, 'cept the Weasley family, everyone knows 'bout them,' he said, pulling at his scraggly beard. His bald head caught the light and flashed.

'She came last night. Skinny girl, average height, short red hair? Wearing a green leather jacket?'

The man shrugged again. 'Not one for letting down customer confident'ality, me, ain't my style y'know.'

Bill struggled to remain patient and, knowing his wife had a much shorter fuse, took her hand, but his usually eloquent and frankly loud wife was strangely taciturn. She neither held his hand nor drew hers away. His other hand he rested on the bar, his wand loosely held between his thumb and index finger. 'That girl is our fifteen-year-old daughter, she has run away from home, and if you continue to withhold information we will bring the full force of the Ministry down upon you!' He hadn't noticed the fact that his voice was rising, and suddenly realised that the whole pub had gone silent. The barman stuck at his bottom lip.

'Fine. She's upstairs, Room Eight, if she ain't left yet. I di'n't know she was fifteen, a'right?'

'Thank you,' said Bill, mock-polite, and he and his still silent wife headed for the stairs, weaving between tables and customers who stared at them as they passed. It was quieter up on the first floor, the raucous chatter from the bar muffled. Bill suddenly felt his heart beat fast in his chest as they went down the passageway, peering at the irregular numbers on the doors in the dim light. Fleur spotted Room Eight first, tucked in between two large rooms.

As the door swung open, Bill was worried for a moment that they'd arrived too late, that somehow Dom had been tipped off or had moved on to go stay somewhere else, with a friend or the damned Nukes. But then there was a hurried noise in the corner of the room and his daughter appeared from around the wardrobe, her expression akin to as if they'd walked in with their wands drawn and shining a searchlight in her face.

There was a brief pause in which all three of them stood frozen in the tight, cramped room, and then like a rabbit Dom made for the door. Bill caught her by the arm, swinging her back around, and as he did he saw her face was screwed up to hold back tears. 'Dom, wait. We need to talk.'

* * *

Victoire and Louis returned to their old spot at the kitchen table to wait for their parents to return. Louis recognised Victoire's pale, tight-lipped expression as when she was so upset she was unable to cry just yet, and figured that her talk with Teddy had not gone well. He decided not to question her about it, and instead set up a chess game and purposefully played much worse than usual so as not to thrash her. They didn't speak.

When the sound of the front door opening and then shutting came, Victoire's hand clenched around the bishop that she'd just picked up, and Louis got to his feet to go fill the kettle. The kitchen door opened and their parents appeared, all smiles and laughter, with Dom between them smiling shyly. Fleur led her to the head of the table and sat her down there, hovering behind her with her hands on her shoulders.

'It's all alright!' announced Bill. 'We've had a really good chat and worked things out.'

Louis and Victoire glanced at each other, both of them remaining silent.

'I think Bill and I are going to go for a walk,' said their mother, stepping away from Dom and taking his hand. 'Do you three want to come?'

'No, thank you,' said Dom politely, smiling up at her. Victoire and Louis shook their heads. Their parents left the house, and Victoire hardly waited a second before rounding on Dom.

'What the fuck is wrong with you?' she asked, her voice harsh. Dom seemed taken aback by this reaction and just stared dumbly at her. 'Have you gone completely insane recently, or were you always this much of a selfish bitch and we didn't realise?'

'Victoire … why are you …'

'Why am I what? Reacting like this? Oh, I don't know, let me think!' snapped Victoire, starting to stride about the kitchen. Louis watched her go. 'Maybe it's because you've just swanned in like nothing was wrong, when Louis and I have spent the last twenty-four hours clearing up _your_ mess. Maybe it's because you thought that it was okay to make _my_ boyfriend choose between lying to me and snitching on you. Maybe it's because you're so fucking immature you decide that the best reaction to having an argument with our parents is to run away!'

'It's not like that, you don't understand!' said Dom. 'They don't treat you two like they treat me!'

'Oh stop being so damned self-pitying, Dom! They're still strict on us, they still get up our backs and tell us not to do things, its just we don't gratuitously break the rules like you do! If you just acted like a normal human being some of the time they'd be no need for them to treat you any differently! But know, you decide that you're a special little snowflake who doesn't have to follow the same rules as other people and if anyone tries to make you, you throw a tantrum until everyone is nice to you again! Well, no, I'm not going to be nice to you about this. You did something wrong, Mum and Dad got angry, and now you've got away with it just because you worried them so sick they forgot to be mad. So I guess well done for managing to epically emotionally manipulate Mum and Dad, but don't hold your breath for me because I'm not going to be jumping on the "let's-all-love-Dom" parade! Oh, and by the way, congratulations for breaking up my relationship in the process.' And she left the room, slamming the door behind her. Louis glanced at one sister, and then followed the path of the other one out the kitchen, leaving Dom alone.

* * *

Christmas was different this year. Albus wondered whether it was because it was his first one since starting Hogwarts, but James and Fred hinted that it was different as well, and they were usually either oblivious or obtuse about things like that. Usually things were loud and raucous and verging on violence or upset, but the dynamic among the adults and the cousins just seemed quieter and more tense.

He knew it was partly because of whatever had gone on with Dom, as although his Aunt Fleur and Uncle Bill were perfectly cheerful, those three cousins were very taciturn, and Dom and Victoire didn't seem on speaking terms. No one was telling what had actually happened, not even Louis to Fred and James. Teddy had suddenly gone off with his grandmother, Andromeda, to spend Christmas with some family friends instead of at the Burrow and Albus wondered if something had gone wrong with him and Victoire.

Fred was alright, but his sister Roxanne had become so aloof and 'cool' that she hardly even looked at him, preferring instead to sit reading magazines or send notes to her boyfriend. Molly just read all the time like normal - she'd never been interested in messing about. Her little sister Lucy seemed to have flu and was chronically tired, just sitting in a chair in the sitting room the whole time. Lily and Hugo just sat in corners giggling together.

Rose seemed to want to hang out with him, but after how she'd treated him at the snowball fight back in Hogwarts he didn't really want to spend time with her. Now he thought about it, she'd become more and more distant from him with each week of their first term, speaking to him less and less and always finding excuses to disappear off within minutes. So he avoided her, sticking to the room where the adults were or trying to follow James and Fred about, as annoying as they were.

In the end Rose cornered him, running after him as he set off outdoors alone. 'Albus! Albus wait up!'

He didn't stop or look back, just kept walking and let her run up beside him. 'Albus, what is it? You're acting weird. Don't you want to hang out with me?'

He glanced at her. 'Why should I, as you obviously don't want to 'hang out' at school?'

Her expression was instantly sheepish. 'It's … it's different, at school. But can't we still spend time together in the holidays?'

He narrowed his eyes at her. Their feet crunched in the frozen grass. 'Why is it different at school?' Rose seemed to flounder for words, her mouth, usually so quick with an answer, opening and closing silently. 'Is it because I'm in Slytherin? Or just because I'm friends with Scorpius Malfoy?' When she didn't reply, he took that as an answer. 'That's why I don't want to 'hang out', Rose. Because for all you spout about being open-minded, you're just as judgemental and bigoted as people say Slytherins used to be.' And he turned away and set off back up towards the house, leaving her behind on the chilly lawn.

* * *

 **Quite an eventful chapter this one … I know that I've been mostly focussed on Dom, as her storyline is the most interesting one at the moment. I'll switch around as the fic goes on, focussing on the other cousins in turn. Hope you enjoyed it, and please tell me what you think in the review box below!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

After a week of strained silences and tense glances, Louis was desperate to get out the house and back to Hogwarts. His sisters had refused to speak to each other after their argument when Dominique came home, and whenever he was alone with either of them they tried to pull him onto their side. It was very claustrophobic.

James and Fred seemed to have had a much more relaxed and light-hearted holiday, and Louis sat quietly on the Hogwarts Express while they demonstrated the presents they'd got and compared the jumpers their Granny Weasley had sent them: James' was royal blue, Fred's burgundy, and Louis' was a purple that made his skin even paler than usual and clashed with his hair. He refused to wear it.

'So, you know what we need to do now,' said James as Fred's indoor non-fire inducing firecracker finally fizzled out. He leant forward towards them, elbows on his knees and the same wide-eyed grinning expression he always wore when he had a plan. Fred ran along with him.

'What, James?'

'Get dates!' he exclaimed, brandishing the chocolate bar he was holding as if he'd just announced his plan for world domination. 'Look, when Teddy was our age he was always saying how the coolest guys got girlfriends from Second Year, or at least got girls in general. Valentine's Day is coming up, its the perfect time for some … wooing.'

'Did you seriously just use the word 'wooing'?' Fred sounded disgusted. 'So you want a girlfriend for status? I thought we were already cool.'

'Yeah, we are, but status in this school is an ever-changing thing. If some Slytherin dicks are shown to have girlfriends before us, they'll knock us down a few places! Let's make a pact - we all have to get girlfriends for Valentine's Day, alright? Louis, you're in right?'

Louis shrugged. 'Yeah, sure, whatever.' It would make his sisters unbearable if they found out he had a girlfriend, but he was already finding them pretty awful so it couldn't get much worse. Fred gave a sigh that showed reluctant agreement, and James clapped his hands together.

'Yes! This'll be fun. Ooh - hang on!' He leant over and slid open the compartment door, just as some pretty Ravenclaw girls in their year were walking past. 'Hello, ladies, fancy seeing you here.'

The lead girl laughed, tossing back her dark curls. 'Yes, fancy that. On the train to the school we all attend. Nice try, Casanova.' The other girls in the group tittered, and they walked on. Fred smirked at the now-scowling James, who crossed his arms and hunched down in his seat.

'Who even is Casanova?'

Further down the train, Albus was sat with Scorpius and the Zabini twins, playing Goblin's Promise - a game similar to Cheat - with Victoria and Xander while Scorpius read a book on the evolution of dragons. He'd seemed completely disinterested in the idea of cards and was taciturn whenever they spoke to him, but after a warning glance from Victoria Albus didn't pursue what was wrong. Still, he was losing badly at the card game as he kept thinking about what could've gone wrong in Scorpius' holidays for him to be like this.

* * *

A few compartments away, Dominique was sitting oblivious to her little brother's issues with her; she was too wrapped up in her own problems and anxieties. Just about her entire group of friends was in the compartment with her, squeezed in together with the smell of sweat steadily increasing; everyone except Nukes. She'd asked Gary if he knew where he was, but he'd just shrugged and shook his head.

'He's probably just getting here late so that he can do another gig with his dad or something.'

Gary was now playing Exploding Snap with another boy, and Dom didn't want to come across as needy or overly anxious. Instead she rummaged in her rucksack and pulled out the book on magically-aided watersports that her parents had given her for Christmas, attempting to distract herself with the chapter on surfboards that had been enchanted for extra balance and levitation.

They arrived at Hogwarts after dark, and Dom sat in silence through the bumping, jolting carriage ride up to the castle. Still, there was no sign of Nukes. As she climbed out the carriage and looked up at the open double doors of the castle she half-expected to see him stood there, grinning at her and ready to kiss her and tell her about California. Except the doorway was empty, apart from those quickly moving through to get inside to the warmth of the Great Hall. Feeling her heart sink, she trailed after friends

Professor Longbottom was stood in the Entrance Hall ushering students through and greeting them all. As much as there'd been enmity between them the term before, Dom wanted to find out about Nukes too intensely to let that come in the way. She left her friends and went over to Longbottom, who smiled kindly at her.

'Professor,' she said as she drew near. 'Do you know where Nukes is? Is he still in California?'

Her heart fell as Longbottom frowned at her. 'Dominique … I thought you'd know by now?'

'Know what?' Her mouth was dry. It was something bad, for Longbottom to look like that.

'Nukes' mother decided that he wasn't doing well enough here at Hogwarts, and I don't know if you know but she gained educational rights in the divorce between her and Nukes' father. He's been transferred to Durmstrang for the remainder of his school career. I'm sorry, Dom.' He indicated towards the doors of the Great Hall and she had no choice but to follow after her friends, who'd already sat down and started being raucous. She sat at the edge of them, staring down at the table.

The next morning the news had passed through Gryffindor and much of the school that the notorious troublemaker Jim Noakes had been taken out of Hogwarts and sent to Durmstrang. Everywhere Dom went there were stares and whispers behind palms. And her friends seemed unsure quite what to say to her, swinging between attempting to banter with her and treating her as if she was going to burst into tears at any moment.

At lunchtime, partly to escape from everyone else, Dom went up to the Owlery. She also wanted to send a letter to Nukes, to ask him to explain what had happened. For a while, she leant against the windowsill and just stared at the blank parchment, at a complete loss as to what she wanted to put down on it. In the end, she just wrote " _Why didn't you tell me? Dom_ " and attached it to one of the school owls, watching it disappear off over the treetops.

When she turned around, she almost walked straight into Molly, who'd come in through the door. 'Oh, sorry.' The two girls stared at each other for a moment, and then Molly spoke. 'I heard about Nukes. It'll probably be good for you in the long term, you know.'

Dom glared at her. 'Is that really all you can say? Go fuck yourself.' She pushed past her and hurried off down the stairs, her footsteps echoing against the curved stone walls.

She waited for several days expecting Nukes' reply to fall down in front of her at breakfast. The owl would probably take a couple of days to get across Europe to Durmstrang, and then maybe another two or three days to get back. But when a week stretched into ten days, and then a fortnight, she started to lose hope. Slowly, instead of feeling any sadness for Nukes, she just became angry.

But the drama in her life didn't subside, as much as she wanted it to, as a few days after she lost any hope of getting a reply from Nukes she came down to lunch to see all her cousins sat in a huddle at the Gryffindor Table. Victoire had moved across from Ravenclaw and Albus from Slytherin, but as Dom came closer she noticed that Molly was absent. The two of them hadn't spoken since they'd met up in the Owlery.

'What's up?' she asked in a cheerful tone, dropping into a seat beside Roxanne. 'Anyone want to hear how I beat Professor Foxworth in a debate in Transfiguration and made her face go purple?'

Victoire gave Dom a disgusted look. 'You know Dom, maybe if you weren't so self-absorbed all the time, you might not be the last person in the family to find out something's wrong,' she said scathingly. Dom looked round at them all. James, Fred and Louis were staring at the table, their eyes downcast. Roxanne had put her arm around Fred, and he wasn't rejecting it. Victoire was holding Rose's hand.

'What's … what's happened?' Dom asked slowly. It was Albus who spoke.

'It's Lucy. She collapsed last night and was taken into St Mungo's. She's been diagnosed with … with leukaemia,' he said quietly. Dom's mouth dropped open. 'They don't think it's going to be fatal, there's a much higher survival rate among witches and wizards compared to Muggles. But it's not certain. That's why Molly's not here, she's gone to visit Lucy with her parents.'

'So maybe now you'll stop being such a bitch to her, Dom?' snapped Victoire. Dom opened her mouth to reply, but Roxanne put a hand on her forearm to stop her and Victoire left the table, marching off across the Great Hall.

All the little attention there had been on Dom was now gone, as the entire focus of the school was on Molly and what was going on in her life. It was a strange experience for Dom to have everyone thinking of her quiet, boring cousin instead of her, but it was even stranger for Molly. Rumours abounded through the students, from Lucy just being sick to Lucy dying to Lucy getting into a horrific accident to Lucy getting attacked and finally talking about whether Lucy had actually died already.

Throughout it Molly said nothing, just moved about as silently as the Hogwarts ghosts. She seemed to have drifted from Abby and the other girls, and whenever Dom tried to speak to her she refused to interact and just turned or walked away. Her face, which had always been round and leaning towards chubby, became withdrawn and greyish in colour, her eyes sunken and surrounded in purple.

That Friday after lessons, Louis met Dom and told her they had to go to Longbottom's study as they were going to visit Lucy in St Mungo's. They apparently couldn't overwhelm her, so James and Albus had been the day before and Fred and Roxanne were going on Saturday. In silence, she, Louis and Victoire lined up in front of Longbottom's fireplace and stepped into it as the fire glowed green, spinning through and out into St Mungo's hospital.

'Dominique! Victoire! Louis!' Their mother hurried over to them with their father trailing behind her. It was a mark of how stressed their mother was that there was not a speck of makeup on her face. 'Come, come along, this way.'

'Where've they put her, Mum?' asked Louis as they hurried down the corridor. 'She's not got a _magical_ illness.'

'There's a Muggle disease ward on the Second Floor,' explained their father, putting a hand on his shoulder as they reached the stairs. Healers in lime green robes and their trainees in green scrubs were striding past in all directions, and it was so confusing it was almost sickening. The whole place, even though it was magically cleaned, somehow still smelt of harsh disinfectant and the linoleum floors squeaked beneath their soles.

They went up two flights of stairs and then down another corridor, taking a right, and a final corridor. At the end of it they met their Uncle Percy, leaning against the wall and looking like he hadn't slept since Lucy's diagnosis. Dom thought he probably hadn't.

He looked around as they approached and smiled wanly, running a shaking hand through his thinning red hair. 'Hello … th-thank you, for coming, it's so kind. She's in here…' He opened the door of the ward in front of them, which had a dulled plaque stating " _Lorcan Poltiss Ward of Non-Magical Degenerative Disease_ " attached it.

The ward was long and thin, the beds mostly empty. Two were ominously surrounded by curtains, with muffled voices coming from within. Dom spotted the back of her Aunt Audrey's head, down near the end of the ward. Her eyes slid from her aunt to the bed she was sat beside, and the small lump in it.

Lucy had always been small and skinny for her age, delicately bird-like and pretty with her curling strawberry-blonde hair. But she seemed to have been reduced to skin stretched over bones, her features seeming too large in her sunken face and her hair now lank and thin. She was lying down in the bed, staring into the middle distance while Audrey spoke to her, but as Dom and the others approached her lips turned up into a weak smile.

'Lucy, ma chere,' said Fleur, sitting down beside Audrey and taking her and Lucy's hands in hers. Louis and Victoire took the remaining chairs, while Bill, Dom and Percy hovered at the end of the bed. Lucy had always liked Fleur and the two of them murmured in French together for a little while. It seemed as though Lucy was barely staying conscious, however, and soon Fleur and Audrey started talking instead.

'She's a little better …'

'The treatment?'

'They say it's working, but it's too early to know for sure.'

'It's curable, more than for Muggles?'

'Yes, yes it is.'

'Are they using potions for her?'

'Yes, three each day and one in the night. They have weakened her now, but she should get stronger soon if … if it's working.'

'She will, Audrey, she will.'

A Healer bustled over to them holding a clipboard, and they were all ushered out again so that Lucy could have another treatment. Louis, Dominique and Victoire walked in silence behind their parents, back to the fireplaces where they'd come in.

'Au revoir,' said Fleur, kissing them all.

'Sorry it's all so hurried,' said Bill. He clapped Louis on the shoulder. 'Lucy's going to be alright, she'll pull through this. Write to us, if you have anxieties.'

Longbottom seemed to have gone to supper while they were away, as his study was dim and empty but for the indoor tortoise that he seemed to have received for Christmas, which was nibbling a lettuce leaf in the corner. They left it and paused in the passageway outside, looking at each other.

'She's become so small,' said Dom.

'Have you managed to get out of your own head, then?' asked Victoire, harshly.

'Have you stopped being such a bitter bitch?' retorted Dom.

'Are either of you ever going to shut the hell up?' snapped Louis. They both looked around at him, shocked at the vehemence and anger in his voice. 'For the last _month_ you've both been so self-centered, and you keep trying to pull me between you, it's unbearable! Victoire, you broke up with your boyfriend, boo hoo, you'll get over it and blaming Dom it is unfair and stupid. Dom, _your_ boyfriend has disappeared off to Durmstrang and again, boo hoo you'll get over it. Now will you both stop being such precious hurt little daisies and realise that there are bigger problems?'

He turned around and stomped off down the corridor. Dom and Victoire looked at each other guiltily. 'I guess we probably have been a bit self-centered,' said Dom. 'I'm sorry about how I acted over the holidays, I didn't think about my actions with Teddy.'

'It's okay, we'd been having problems for ages, I just found it easier to blame you I guess,' said Victoire. 'And I have been a bit harsh on you.'

Dom held out a hand to her, and Victoire took it but then pulled her into a hug, which she bore for a bit before pushing her away. 'See you around.'

* * *

The Potions classroom had no windows, and when everyone had lit fires beneath their cauldrons Louis found it horribly hot and sweaty, even in midwinter. It didn't aid his potion-making, which had been described as 'shoddy' in his last report from Professor Kettle. Pushing a lock of hair off his forehead with a sticky palm, he blinked smoke out his eyes and squinted down at the recipe of the potion he was supposed to be making. It was a simple one for clearing out blocked sinuses, and supposedly it should now be light blue and of a 'dropping' consistency.

Instead what was in his cauldron was purple and thin as milk, and giving off a smell of burnt cabbage. Beside him Fred and James seemed to be throwing in ingredients in a haphazard fashion, but their potions seemed alright. Kettle had a glance in his cauldron as he walked past, and shook his head with a sigh.

'Psst! Hey, Louis!'

He was poked in the small of his back and looked around. It was a Ravenclaw girl, Becky Norton, who he'd spoken to a few times and seemed very nice. She pointed to his cauldron.

'It helps if your fire is embers, instead of proper flames. If it heats up too much it causes that burnt smell. And make sure the ingredients isn't diced up too fine? Sorry I don't mean to come across as bossy, I just wanted to help.'

'No, no, thank you!' he exclaimed, quickly tending to his fire.

Louis' potion improved a little after Becky's advice, and Kettle didn't seem completely exasperated when he showed it at the end of the lesson. As the three boys left the classroom, Louis saw Becky walking a little ahead and, straightening his shoulders, hurried over to her. 'Hey! Becky!'

She looked around at him and smiled, dropping back a little so they were walking alone. 'I just wanted to say thanks for the help with my potion, it was really kind of you.'

'No, that's okay,' said Becky, pushing her glasses up her nose a little and smiling at him. 'Kettle doesn't give enough help, really, he just expects students to be able to keep up with the work.'

'Yeah I don't know how I'm going to make it to the end of the year,' said Louis, shaking his head.

'I could help you?' offered Becky.

'Would you? That would be great! Thanks, Becky.'

He'd thought that her red cheeks had been because of the heat back in the Potions classroom, but when he went back to Fred and James they were smirking at him. 'Looks like li'l Louis might be the first one to get hooked,' said Fred, laughing and dodging out the way as Louis tried to kick him in the ankle. 'I shotgun being best man!'

'Does tutoring count as a date do you think?' mused James. 'Just saying because as geeky as those Ravenclaws are, I don't think Norton is going to be up for a date involving chess, Louis, you should probably think of some other options. Gobstones doesn't count either.'

Louis scowled at him as well. 'You can't talk, I _am_ the first to get a girl,' he boasted. James shrugged.

'Speak for yourself,' he said, running a hand through his hair so it stuck up more. 'I've got Carla Arterton.'

'Carla Arterton? Bullshit no you haven't,' said Fred. Carla was a very pretty girl in Gryffindor.

'Well, I haven't got her _yet_ , but I will soon. She complimented me on my trainers on Sunday.'

'Ooh, it's love.'

'Shut up!'

* * *

In the older years, things were getting more intense at the rapid approach of February 14th. It was something that quietly united Victoire and Dom a little in their estrangement is that neither of them were remotely interested in the day. But for Roxanne, it was a lot more important. Gracie had told her all about the fact she and Zach were going to spend a romantic day together in Hogsmeade, and how Zach was going to get her flowers and presents and she was writing poetry for him, but her own boyfriend Danny hadn't mentioned anything to do with the 14th.

The two of them hadn't seen each other over the holidays as Danny said his family liked to celebrate Christmas privately and didn't want him or his sisters bring friends to stay. When January finally came, she was so excited to see him she virtually ran onto the platform, but when they found each other he didn't react any more than if they'd only been apart for a lesson. But then he'd never been the excitable type, so she decided that he was happier than he was letting on.

But Valentine's Day was bothering her. They were the newer couple next to the firmly entrenched Zach and Gracie, so they couldn't come across as any less romantic than them. But Danny didn't even seem disinterested in it; he didn't seem to have noticed it was happening. She found herself musing how to make him realise without outright asking if they were doing anything

As she was sitting thinking about this problem in the sitting room, she suddenly realised Dom was stood by the sofa she was lying on, looking down at her. 'Roxanne … I need to talk to you.'

'Sure, Dom, what's up?' She sat up and swung her legs off the sofa so Dom could sit down. Her cousin's face was downcast, and for a horrible moment she was worried Lucy had worsened in St Mungo's. 'Is something wrong? Is it Lucy?'

'No … no it's not that. Roxanne, there's no easy way to say this. After practice just now, Danny and Kendra were the last to leave, and they didn't realise I was behind the lockers. I heard them making out, Roxanne. I'm so sorry.'

Roxanne stared down at her knees. As she imagined Danny with the buxom blonde in their year she felt hot tears well up in her eyes, and she shook her head, blinking the tears away. No. There was no way Danny was cheating on her. They'd had that misunderstanding at Halloween, sure, but they'd worked it out and he was happy to wait until she was ready, he'd said so.

'You're lying,' she said in a low, dangerous voice. 'It's not true. Danny's not doing that.'

'Roxanne, I heard them, I was there!'

'No!' She stood up, turning on Dom. 'How dare you accuse Danny like that. You're just so bitter about your own boyfriend leaving you that you want to jeopardise my relationship! You're a bitch! Leave me alone!'

She turned towards the dormitories, but then changed her mind and left through the Portrait Hole, heading down towards the changing rooms for the Quidditch teams. Danny hadn't come back from practice yet; she'd go down and meet him, and he'd tell her how unfounded Dom's claims were. It was sad that Dom had felt the need to accuse him like this, she'd always got on well with her before. But she hadn't liked Danny since that misunderstanding at Halloween, and anyway she was mixed up after Nukes left for Durmstrang.

It was growing dark when she reached the changing rooms, and the area of the castle was dimly lit and seemed deserted. Maybe she'd missed him. Still, she crept down to the Gryffindor changing rooms, pushing open the door.

As she stepped inside, she froze, her heart suddenly beating hard against her ribs. Then the sound came again - a groan of pleasure that unmistakably came from Danny. She leant against the wall for support, as she heard her boyfriend murmur Kendra's name.

Later, she couldn't remember the journey back to the Gryffindor Tower, but she found herself almost running through the Common Room to get to her dormitory, hardly able to see or breathe through her tears. It was mercifully empty and she collapsed on her bed, sobbing into her pillow. She didn't hear Dom come in but heard her say her name softly and then climb on the bed, wrapping her arms around her and pulling her against her as she cried.

They lay like that for a while until Roxanne's sobs subsided, and then sat without talking in the silence, still hugging each other. The sound of the dormitory door opening made them both jump a little, and Dom felt a weight drop into her stomach as she saw Kendra Halliwell step through the door, tossing her curls a little as she went over to her bed. The girl noticed the two of them on Roxanne's bed and stopped, looking innocently concerned.

'What's wrong?'

Dom felt Roxanne tense against her and tried to keep hold of her, but her cousin wrenched herself out of her grasp and stood up, shaking back her hair as she advanced on Kendra, who started to retreat back towards her bed. 'You bitch! You skanky little whore!'

'Roxanne, what's wrong? I haven't done anything, whoever told you is lying!'

'No they're not!' screeched Roxanne. 'I was there, I heard you with _my_ boyfriend!' The slap reverberated in the room and Kendra fell back against her bedpost, gasping and clutching her cheek. Then she burst into loud, wailing sobs.

'Oww! I'm going to report you!'

'No you won't!' Roxanne looked as if she was about to full-on jump Kendra and, worried that her cousin was about to get herself expelled, Dom leapt off the bed and ran to grab her from behind, dragging her flailing away from the screaming Kendra. 'Let me go Dom I'm going to kill her!'

The commotion must've been quite loud, as the door opened again and Molly appeared, staring at the scene - Dom holding the struggling Roxanne while Kendra clutched her cheek with one hand and the bedpost with the other, acting as though Roxanne had stabbed her. 'What's going on?' Molly's voice seemed tired, and Dom noticed how thin she'd become.

'Roxanne has just found out that Danny was cheating with Kendra here, and is a little angry,' gasped Dom, slightly struggling to keep a hold on her enraged cousin. She was expecting Molly to hand out some detentions all round and recommend a suspension for Roxanne.

'Halliwell, stop that snivelling, you're fine,' snapped Molly sharply. 'And luckily for you, there's a space in the dorm next door for you. Pack your stuff and move immediately.'

Kendra stared at Molly, obviously aghast. 'Why do _I_ have to move - she attacked me! I won't! Next door is full of freaks anyway I don't want to go in with them!' The dormitory next door had the more studious and quiet girls in it, and Kendra saw them as beneath her as they liked to do extra reading around their subjects and write essays.

'You will, and hopefully it will make you a little less of a complete bitch, although I don't have much hope. Move, now!'

Dom opened her mouth to thank Molly, but she just caught her cousin's eye and saw a small, rare smile playing about her cousin's mouth. She smiled back, and then led Roxanne over to her bed again as Kendra threw her belongings into her trunk.

The other girls in the dorm found out what had happened later that evening when they came back to the dorm to find Kendra gone, and Dom explained why. Roxanne found herself surrounded by the other girls who told her how worthless Danny was, and how much better she could do than him. Dom quietly left the dorm as Gracie took her position of hugging Roxanne.

'We're going to blacklist him,' insisted one of them, a girl called Xana Frith. 'And Kendra too. We can't believe she did that. But they will pay for it.'

Dom soon realised that she had her own problems with the fiasco of Roxanne and Danny's breakup - as she now hated the boy, how was she supposed to be his partner in the fast-approaching match against Hufflepuff? Basil Hartley had told them in no uncertain terms that he wouldn't tolerate their play being affected by 'personal problems', and she knew she couldn't allow herself to be affected by her issues with him. It was easier with Kendra - the two of them didn't come into contact much on the pitch, and the girl knew not to speak to her when they were on the ground.

But although she could hardly even look at Danny without wanting to strangle his smug face, when they got on the pitch she found it didn't matter. Even though they weren't on speaking terms, this was their third year of playing together on the pitch - they didn't _need_ to speak. Dom knew where Danny would be on the pitch and what moves he'd pull, and sure enough she wasn't wrong. They played as if nothing was wrong.

She hoped that this wouldn't cause Roxanne to take umbrage at her, but her younger cousin seemed absorbed both in moving on from Danny and taking revenge on him and Kendra. As far as she could tell, the Fourth Year Gryffindor girls had entirely ostracised Danny and Kendra, and the boys seemed to have taken Roxanne's side in the whole affair. It was quite satisfying to watch.

Victoire also heard about the break-up through the school grapevine and, after checking with her Gryffindor cousins that it wasn't a complete crisis, she tried to dispel some of the worse rumours, such as whether Roxanne had contracted an STD through Danny's affair with Kendra.

Although she wasn't very angry at Dom anymore, she found herself still mourning her break-up with Teddy, and she couldn't help wondering if it had all been a mistake. It was true that she was seeing more of her friends now and felt less stressed over the amount of work she had, but she felt a sharp pang in her heart each time she walked into her bedroom and saw he was not there and realised he never would be again.

They hadn't contacted each other since the break-up before Christmas, but Victoire caught tidbits of what he was doing in conversations with her cousins: he was still at _The Dancing Gypsy_ , he'd started playing a little on the open mic nights, he was considering pursuing music as a career. On all accounts, he seemed to be moving on and doing what he wanted to be doing, now that she was out of the picture.

She was sat in the Common Room, trying to complete an essay but secretly pondering whether she could sneak into _The Dancing Gypsy_ and hear him play - she was so curious - when she realised that Jonny kept looking up at her. They shared a lot of the same subjects and so were often study partners, but this evening he seemed as unable to concentrate as she was.

'Are you okay, Jonny?' she asked as he looked at her for the third time that minute. 'Have I got something on my face?'

'N-no, it's not that it's just… you're really pretty Victoire, and really nice, and I couldn't say it while you had a boyfriend but now … if not that's - that's okay … but I was just wondering if … you know … yeah.'

She stared back at him, thinking. There was no way she wanted another relationship at this point, but maybe Jonny could be useful. They did say that a rebound was the best way to get over someone. She realised he was still looking at her and she smiled at him, taking his hand.

'Come on.'

He seemed to be shaking with nerves as they reached his bedroom - which was a mirror image of hers - but as they started kissing and undressing each other he became more relaxed, feeling her arse and breasts with something close to confidence.

He was quite good, she thought, although he was obviously inexperienced. It was clumsier than with Teddy, his hands more clammy and fumbling, but she felt some pleasure and quite enjoyed it. When he'd finished they lay on the bed, and he moved to cuddle her, but she only lay in his arms for a minute before sitting up and starting to pull on her clothes.

'Where're you going?' he mumbled sleepily, looking at her through half-closed eyes. She looked over her shoulder at him, bundling her rumpled hair into a bun. 'That was nice…'

'Yeah,' she said, nodding.

'So where do you want to go on the 14th?' he asked, sliding under the covers and reaching out to pull her back close to him. She moved out of his reach.

'What do you mean, on the 14th?' she asked, frowning down at him. He stared at her, obviously confused.

'Well … we're an item now, right? So we're meant to do something for Valentine's Day?' He took her silence as a reply, and continued, smiling at her. 'I really enjoyed that, you know. I'm glad you were my first time. I've liked you for ages.'

Victoire felt suddenly horribly dirty. This boy thought that the fact they'd just had sex meant they were in a relationship. She'd used him for nothing more than a rebound. And it had been his first time having sex - she should've known!

'Jonny … I'm … I'm not looking for a relationship,' she said slowly, her mouth dry.

'But then why did you sleep with me?' he asked, narrowing his eyes at her. 'Just for a rebound?'

The guilt etched into her expression told him, and he turned away from her, glaring. 'Jonny, I'm sorry -'

'No, Victoire. Just go. Forget everything I said. Obviously we're not on the same page.'

'Jonny, please, I like you - just not romantically, you know? I'm sorry!' she pleaded. He stared stonily back at her.

'It's okay. I'm not so sure I like you anymore, anyway. It seems I was wrong about your character, at least.'

She stared down at the floor, and then turned around and left the room, going through to her own bedroom and locking the door. As she sat down by the smouldering embers of the fire, she found herself crying uncontrollably.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

The March air held the first touch of spring warmth, thawing the ground underfoot as the Gryffindors swept up towards the castle, cheering and whooping and bearing the Quidditch team among them. Two Sixth Year boys had grabbed Dom by the thighs and waist and lifted her up onto their shoulders, carrying her up the path as she held a red and gold banner. They'd just beaten Hufflepuff in their second match of the season, placing Gryffindor first in the running for the Quidditch Cup.

It was only mid-afternoon when they reached the Gryffindor Tower, but the party started immediately. It began teetotal, but Dom knew that it would carry on until late, and the alcohol would appear after the younger students went to bed. In fact, they started to be bundled up the stairs to their dormitories early so that the drinking could start.

'Give me some vodka!' roared Basil as the last First Year was sent off, grabbing at a bottle and downing a mouthful to cheers and whoops. Dom accepted a cup of some sort of alcohol and lemonade, taking a small sip.

'What's with you, Weasley?'

She hadn't noticed that a boy had sat down beside her on the sofa. For a moment, she had no idea who he was, but then a passing Sixth Year threw something in the fire and made it flash, and in the light she realised it was a Sixth Year … from Slytherin. He was a friend of the Slytherin Keeper, she remembered him from after the match in November, clapping the boy on the back.

He read her expression and laughed. 'Don't look so shocked, Weasley, I'm not here for sabotage. Your match was against Hufflepuff, I'm a Slytherin, I can come along to your victory party.'

'Why are you interested? I thought all Slytherins hated us 'bone-headed' Gryffindors,' she said. Four boys across the room started dancing in a circle like tribal warriors, chanting and beating their chests.

'There is a fair bit of bone-head in this room,' said the boy, smirking. 'But things were a bit quiet in the Slytherin Common Room and I figured you lions would be amusing. Anyway, I don't really care about the actual tournament, I just like amusing matches. Hufflepuff is dull as fuck, Ravenclaw always plays so cleverly it's hard not to miss things … but when Slytherin and Gryffindor play, damn, that's a show.'

'Nice philosophy,' said Dom. 'What's your name, anyway? You haven't told me.'

'Toby Montgomery,' he said, holding out a hand to her.

'Dominique Weasley,' she replied, taking the hand.

'I know. In November I had to spend an hour listening to my friends chant "Fuck you Weasley, hope you hit yourself".'

She laughed, brushing her hair off her face. 'And I'm guessing you don't go for all that mainstream 'Slytherin versus Gryffindor' crap?'

He shrugged, taking a swig from a hipflask. 'Guess not. Listen, as entertaining as your wonderfully brain cell deficient housemates have been, I think I'm going to get out of here. It's ten o'clock already, and that's a whole hour past my bedtime. I'm kidding but really, do you want to come walk or something?'

'I would,' she said. 'But I feel like I'm about to fall asleep this second.'

'I'm sorry I'm boring you.'

'No, it's not you, I'm just exhausted after the match. As sad as it is, I might just go to bed.'

'Fine, fine, I know you're just sparing my feelings,' he said, standing up.

'Do you want this drink?' she asked, holding out her cup to him. 'It's just going to go to waste otherwise.

'I follow the policy of not drinking anything where I don't know what's been put into it,' he said. 'See you round, Weasley.'

She watched him leave the Common Room, weaving between dancing students and amorous couples, and then after a second she stood up as well and left in the opposite direction. On the staircase up to the girls' dormitories the music was muffled, seeming to vibrate on the stone walls when she pressed her hand against it. It grew quieter as she went further up, and when the door swung shut behind her in the dormitory, there was blissful silence.

Having fallen asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow, Dom's night was filled with strange, disturbing dreams, which she forgot as soon as she woke up but left their residue of vague fatigue. From her clock, she'd slept almost twelve hours, but she didn't feel particularly refreshed.

As she sat up in bed and pushed her hair out her face, she noticed the sound of voices drifting through the curtain. It was Abby and her gang, presumably gushing over how well Basil Hartley had played in the map. She privately thought he'd played like a Confunded walrus, but she wasn't going to say that to Abby unless the girl annoyed her … which was very likely.

Pushing back the twisted blankets, Dom pushed her way out between the heavy curtains and stood up. Abby and the other girls were huddled together on a bed, giggling over something. One of them, Tilly, looked up and saw Dom stood by her bed, and quickly nudged the other two. They fell silent and looked at her. 'What?'

'We didn't realise you were still here, we thought you'd left,' said Abby, tossing back her blonde curls.

'Okay, so? What, were you talking about me?'

'No,' said Abby. 'Don't you know? We're talking about your _cousin_ , obviously.'

If it was one thing Dom admired about Abby, it was that she was at least open about the fact she talked about people behind their backs. If she was being a bitch when you weren't looking, you knew, because she was a bitch to your face as well. Molly had drifted from the clique - as she'd drifted from everyone - in the past few weeks. She seemed to always either be in the Library or St Mungo's, and the clique hadn't put any effort in to change that.

'I don't know,' said Dom, 'and if you're about to make up some lie about Molly, don't. She's got enough to deal with already without some horrible rumour going around.'

'It's not a rumour,' said Tilly, smirking at her. 'Everyone saw it happen.'

'Saw _what_?'

The three girls tittered. 'I can't believe you don't know,' said Abby. 'Molly kissed Nora Jenkins last night. She's a _lesbian_.'

Dom dressed quickly and hurried downstairs to try and find Molly, but no one knew where she was. The entire Common Room seemed to be talking about it, and Dom nearly hit two Second Year boys who she heard speculating about whether Molly was now going to cut all her hair off and stop shaving.

Molly didn't appear until everyone was headed for lunch, when she appeared in the crowded Entrance Hall. Somehow the rumours had spread through the school, and there was a ripple of whispers and titters when she appeared. Dom was at the top of the stairs, looking over the balustrade, and saw Molly stood alone in the middle of the floor below.

'Dyke!'

She didn't see who yelled, but there was a shout of laughter from a big gang of boys across the Entrance Hall.

'Do you think it's because her sister's dying?' said a Second Year girl down the stairs, loud enough for everyone to hear.

'Wouldn't've expected it,' said someone else. 'Everyone says she's the uptight Weasley.'

With more dignity than Dom had ever seen in a person, Molly seemed not to hear them, but merely straightened her posture and raised her chin, ignoring everyone as she walked through the parting crowds into the Great Hall.

Shoving the people around her out the way, Dom virtually ran down the stairs after her cousin, who was sitting down alone at the Gryffindor Table. She dropped into the seat opposite her and pulled a platter of sausages closer, stabbing some with a fork and lifting them onto her plate. Molly stared, saying nothing.

'So can we stop arguing now?'

The corner of Molly's mouth twitched upwards, and she shrugged, her eyes crinkling a little at the corners. 'Okay.'

* * *

The weather had turned, and as Albus sat against the window of his dormitory the wind and rain lashed against the glass, the water of the lake slapping and spraying it. He'd decided not to join in on Victoria and Leo's chess game, preferring to enjoy some alone time in the emptiness of the dormitory. On the inside of the window was a ledge wide enough for him to sit with a book, although the view often distracted him. Today he'd hardly made it through two pages of his reading homework before he found himself staring pensively out at the blustering grey sky and lake.

The problem was Scorpius. Since they'd come back to school at the start of the term, he'd been as taciturn as in September, and Albus had no idea why. He knew that something had to have happened over the holidays, but he didn't want to pester Scorpius for information if Scorpius didn't want to tell.

Still, it was worrying. His friend now just sat quietly in lessons, only reluctantly joining in on conversation when pushed by him and the Zabinis, and he never contributed any ideas for schemes or tricks.

And then there was the issue of Rose, too. The two of them hadn't spoken since their argument at Christmas, and although he was flatly refusing to make the first move to repair things, he missed her. She seemed to be doing fine with her group of friends in Gryffindor, and he knew that he would appear to be doing fine to her. But he couldn't help wondering quietly whether things would ever be the same with them.

The sky outside the window darkened further, and he heard the first rolling sounds of thunder. As he did, the door of the dormitory swung open and Scorpius walked in. Albus noticed that his hair and robes looked damp, as if he'd just come in from the outside.

'Hey,' he said, raising a hand in greeting.

'Hello.' Scorpius went to his bedside table and pulled out some parchment, placing it on the bed. He then took what seemed to be a letter and shoved it into the drawer, shutting it tight and locking it.

'You alright?' Albus asked. Scorpius nodded. He decided to throw caution to the wind and just go for it. 'Because you've been acting weird, as if something's wrong, ever since we came back after Christmas. What's going on?'

'I'm fine, Albus, really.'

'No, you're not.'

Marking his place, Albus swung his legs off the ledge and dropped to the floor, striding over to him as Scorpius started fiddling with the parchment, refusing to meet his eyes. 'What is it?'

'Nothing!'

Straightening up, Scorpius grabbed some books and marched out the dormitory, slamming the door behind him. The storm outside seemed suddenly loud as Albus stood in the empty dormitory, reeling from the altercation. As he looked around, his eyes fell upon Scorpius' bedside table, where he'd shoved what looked like a letter. For a minute, he grappled inwardly with the situation, and then he hurried around and sat down on the bed, pulling on the drawer.

It didn't open. He guessed that there was some sort of Locking Charm and pulled his wand out of his pocket. Hoping that the charm wasn't specific to Scorpius' touch, he placed the tip of his wand against the handle and murmured " _Alohomora_ ". There was a pause, and then he reached out and pulled on the handle. It opened.

As he stared into the drawer - which was surprisingly well ordered, compared the jumbled mess that was his own one - he again had qualms about what he was doing. But something was really wrong with Scorpius, and his friend didn't seem to be opening up about it in the near future.

He noticed a piece of folded parchment shoved against the back of the drawer, and reaching in he carefully slid it out from between a stack of small notebooks and a crocodile of different coloured inkpots.

The creases of the parchment were wearing thin, as if the letter had been folded and unfolded many times. Carefully, so as not to rip it, Albus unfolded it again and read:

 _Dear Scorpius,_ it began, _the divorce between your mother and I is finalised. She has moved to France. Until further change, you will return to the Malfoy Estate in July. Regards, your Father._

'What are you doing?'

Albus jumped, dropping the letter into his lap as he looked up and saw that Scorpius at returned. It was clear that Scorpius knew exactly what he was doing, and he did not look happy about it. Marching over he snatched the letter out of Albus' lap and pocketed it. 'You had no right.'

'Scorpius, you have to talk about this -'

 _Smack_. The punch had surprising force, throwing Albus backwards onto his side. He was dazed for a moment, and then sat up, rubbing his face. Scorpius was stretching and clenching his hand, glaring at him. 'I deserved that. I'm sorry that I read your letter. But I was worried about you - you haven't been yourself for weeks, months even! Scorpius you can't live with something like this and not tell me!'

'Why?' Scorpius' voice was low, harsh.

'Because I'm your friend! What's the point in us being friends if you're not going to tell me things? You don't have to bottle everything up!'

Scorpius stared out the window for a while and then he sat down opposite Albus, resting his elbows on his knees. 'I guess I have been bottling things a bit. It's going to be in the tabloids any day now, anyway, but I just felt like a few more days of peace when nobody knows.'

'I won't tell.'

He nodded. 'Thanks. I suppose I should fill you in on the whole story now. I found out at Christmas. I knew that my parents were having problems - that's why I wasn't that happy at the end of last term, I didn't want to go back into that scene. But then I arrived back home and my mother was just … gone. She hadn't warned me in her letters - I think it had all been so sudden that she didn't have time to. I think she found out a while ago that my father had had affairs, and so she started to have her own one. My father didn't tell me who the man was, but I think he's a diplomat in the French Ministry of Magic. They're living in Paris together now.'

'And have you got to live with your Dad?'

He shrugged. 'Mother wrote me a letter in January. It didn't say much, only reiterating what I've just told you really. But she did say that she was going to try and get joint custody of me, so then I can spend half the holidays with her and half with him.'

'And some with me,' said Albus. 'I'm sorry, Scorpius. For what's happened and for what I did.'

'It was a pretty low move. But I guess you had the right intentions.' He put the letter away and stood up, running his hands through his hair. Albus noticed how tired he looked. 'Do you want to go for dinner?'

Understanding that Scorpius didn't want to pursue the subject of his parents' divorce any further that evening, he nodded and they left the dormitory together.

* * *

The weather didn't lift for over a week, and in the Great Hall the rain fell to a few inches above students' heads before disappearing, in a way that would've been disconcerting if Victoire hadn't become used to it in the last seven years. As she walked in for breakfast, she barely even glanced at the sky that blustered overhead.

She and Jessica Alcott, another friend from Ravenclaw, sat with some other students from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff for a breakfast of eggs and bacon. She couldn't help admitting that since her breakup with Teddy she'd become closer with her friends. It had become clear to her how much time she was having to spend maintaining her relationship with all its difficulties. It was only Jonny who she wasn't speaking to, beyond what they had to communicate about their duties.

She'd only confided to Jessica about how much she missed Teddy. The two of them had starting a habit of sitting by her fireplace, roasting marshmallows and drinking Firewhisky-lemonade mixers and talking.

'So he's playing in _The Dancing Gypsy_ , every other Friday?' Jessica had said, when they'd last talked on Monday night. 'And you want to go see him. In secret. Having snuck out of school against the rules.'

'We can do the sneaking out bit alright.'

'I know that, that's the fun part to work out,' said Jessica, wincing as her marshmallow burst into flames. Her cat padded across the carpet and climbed onto Victoire's lap. 'It's just … are you sure it's for the best?'

'What do you mean?'

Jessica popped the blackened marshmallow in her mouth and dipped another one in chocolate. 'You broke up with him in December, and it was all horribly emotional and heartbreaking. Now it's March, and you're getting over him a bit - won't seeing him perform just bring up those emotions again?'

'No! I'll be fine, really. I just … I want to see how he is.'

They started planning their great escape - how they would disguise themselves so as not to be recognised and make sure that no one missed their absence. But it was past eleven by this point and beyond deciding that they'd go that Friday, they left the subject until later in the week.

So when they walked into the Great Hall on Wednesday morning, Victoire was inwardly musing over the Friday night. She wasn't sure whether she wanted Teddy to see her or not - against her better judgement, she couldn't help imagining a scenario in which he recognised her and they had a passionate moment in which they realised what a mistake their break-up was.

The post owls arrived with them, and as she sat down a letter and copies of the _Daily Prophet_ and _Witch Weekly_ were dropped onto her empty plate. The letter was from her parents, giving her the usual update - her father's promotion, the continuing success of her mother's consultancy, ending with the line " _keep studying!_ ", as if she needed a reminder. There was nothing particularly interesting in the main pages of the _Daily Prophet,_ apart from a couple of Ministry employees being prosecuted for corruption. On the front of _Witch Weekly_ , however, she saw not only the words "Malfoy marriage - over!" emblazoned, and felt a pang of pity for Scorpius, but she also felt something in her chest clench painfully as she saw a picture of Teddy in the corner of the magazine's front page. He was smiling and waving awkwardly, under the words - New musician, new heartthrob?

Hurriedly flipping through to the right page, she found a long article on Teddy, whose music career seemed to be taking off exponentially. She had been purposefully avoiding any mention of him in the past few months, and hadn't realised quite how successful he was. From what the article said, he had joined up with a band as a singer and guitarist, and they were becoming more and more famous and successful.

The page had photos of Teddy splurged across it - Teddy with his band, with his guitar, surrounded by teenage girls who she supposed were new fans. His hair was cropped closely around the back and sides of his head, but long on the top and it seemed to defy gravity, sticking up in a way that made her ache to run her hands through it. He seemed to be having the time of his life.

Jessica was beside her and saw the article over her shoulder. 'Are you alright? Do you still want to go?' Victoire nodded, and closing the magazine she handed it to Caty Nagle of Hufflepuff diagonally opposite her.

If anything, the article had made her want to go watch Teddy more. She felt a need to see how he was, whether he was moving on from her. On Friday evening, she took Fever Fudge at lunchtime and went to bed, and after supper Jessica told everyone that she was sleeping in Victoire's room that night, so no one would notice their disappearance.

She charmed her hair to make it brunette, and put on a pair of glasses with thick black rims, wrapping a thick scarf around her neck so it almost covered her mouth. Jessica just put on a beanie hat and figured that Teddy wouldn't know her well enough to recognise her in the crowd.

 _The Dancing Gypsy_ was crowded and smoky, the air warm against Victoire's cheeks as she stepped out of the fireplace. Immediately, she heard the chords of a familiar guitar, playing out of sight. Jessica stumbled out behind her and linked arms with her, and the two of them went round to the main room of the bar, purposefully hovering at the edge where Victoire hoped they were virtually out of sight.

Teddy was sat on a stool on a raised bit of staging in the corner of the bar, his fingers lightly running over chords on his guitar strings while the band behind him warmed up a saxophone, clavichord and cello. He was wearing his 'Rules of Attraction' t-shirt that was so familiar to Victoire she could almost feel it beneath her fingertips, with the ripped jeans that his knees stuck out of and the beaten-up old dragonskin boots that he'd bought with his own money five years ago. He'd made his hair jet black but icy blue at the tips. The audience chatter slowly died down as everyone turned their attention to the stage, and Teddy lifted his wand to his throat, magically magnifying his voice.

'Hello everybody,' he said, and Victoire felt that familiar pang in her chest. It was the first time since their breakup that she'd heard his low, husky voice, warm yet intoned with irony and humour. 'Once again, thank you to Dalby, owner of this excellent pub, for having us to play here -'

'Don't thank me!' yelled a bearded man at the bar. 'You double my income!'

Teddy laughed, pushing his thick fringe out his face. 'Anyway, we've got a few songs to play for you tonight, hope you enjoy them. Our first one is one of the first songs I wrote, and it's dedicated to my Mum and Dad.'

 _There's something wrong, I had to admit,_

 _The first time I saw your faces,_

 _I was five, it didn't seem right_

 _You were there on those pages._

 _All my life I've felt there's something missing,_

 _With you both in a photograph instead of here living_

 _I understand now why you had to go_

 _There's reason for it I see_

 _Doesn't change this feeling though_

 _That you shouldn't have left me._

 _All my life I've felt there's something missing,_

 _With you both in a photograph instead of here living._

 _I guess I just feel sorry now_

 _For all the things you've missed of me_

 _But no point crying for you now_

 _You've just gone away for good I see._

 _All my life I've felt there's something missing_

 _With you both in a photograph instead of here living_

 _See I don't want you to feel bad_

 _Don't feel like you have done me wrong_

' _Cause when I think of you, I'm proud,_

 _But I just had to write this song._

 _All my life I've felt there's something missing_

 _WIth you both in a photograph instead of here living_

The last few notes of the song died away and there was a brief silence before the bar broke into rapturous applause. Teddy was smiling but as he reached up to push his hair off his face again, Victoire notice him almost imperceptibly brush over his eyes, as if clearing them of tears.

'Do you girls want a drink?' Dalby, the bearded owner of the pub, had appeared at Victoire's elbow.

'Firewhisky, please,' gasped Victoire, and although he raised his eyebrows the man shrugged and went to make them drinks. Jessica just ordered a Butterbeer, keeping a tight hold on Victoire.

'Thanks guys,' said Teddy as the clapping died down. 'So my next song is a new one that I've been wrestling with for a while, and it's about someone I lost a few months ago.'

Victoire felt her chest clench again, painfully as if someone had stabbed between her ribs. Before she had time to recover her composure Teddy was strumming the first few chords of the song, and as the band joined him he started singing.

 _Maybe it just was not meant to be_

 _Maybe something wasn't right between you and me_

 _Maybe we were like wrong jigsaw pieces_

 _Looking pretty but our shapes not fitting properly_

 _I'm sure you're doing fine, doing great_

 _I was a bad influence in your life anyway_

 _We're probably too young for it_

 _It was too soon to make it fit_

 _So I guess there's nothing left to say_

 _Except I'm sorry it ended that way._

 _If I hurt you, made you cry, made you mad_

 _Made you regret that you ever had_

 _Let me kiss you or hold you or love you_

 _I swear I didn't mean for that._

 _So if you're hurting please don't,_

 _Wish you'd write but I know you won't,_

' _Cause I fucked it up so now you're gone,_

 _Guess we should both be moving on._

' _Cause I fucked it up so now you're gone,_

 _Guess we should both be moving on._

The song died away and Victoire found herself stood frozen in the warm bar, unable to tear her eyes from the stage. The audience were clapping and cheering, and a smiling Teddy looked out at them all. As if in slow motion, Victoire saw him look across the crowd, and finally stop at her. She knew instantly that he recognised her. His eyes widened and he started to open his mouth, but somehow it broke her out of her trance and she turned away, grabbing Jessica and dragging her out of sight.

As they reached the fireplace Victoire realised that a glass of Firewhisky had made it into her hand, so she downed it and placing it on the mantlepiece, between a model of a Hippogriff and a pot of Floo powder. Throwing a handful of the powder into the fire, she stepped into the heat and was gone, spun away into the dizzying darkness of the Floo network.

It spat her back out into her bedroom, and as she sat down in her armchair Jessica came spinning out behind her. She grabbed the mantle for support and looked around at Victoire, who was determinedly looking away, at the darkened window. Wind and rain lashed against the glass.

'You okay?'

She nodded, absent-mindedly starting to pick at her nails with her teeth. Jessica dropped onto the sofa opposite - their usual positions. 'We left there pretty abruptly.'

'Yeah. I think he saw me.'

'Wasn't because of that song?'

She shrugged. 'He's moving on, like me. He's doing fine. That's all I wanted to know.'

'Alright, if you say so.'

Victoire checked her watch - it was nearly eleven, and suddenly she felt tired to her marrow. 'If it's alright, Jess, I'm just going to go to sleep.'

'Sure, fine. I'll see you tomorrow, Victoire.'

Her friend left the room, and Victoire sat in the silence for a short while, still staring at the storm lashing against the window. The Firewhisky that she'd drunk had reached her stomach, warming it pleasantly. After a minute or so, she stood up and went across the room to her trunk, pulling it out from under her bed. Inside were two bottles of Firewhisky and one of Salamander Vodka. Her Uncle Charlie had bought her one of the Firewhisky bottles for her seventeenth, and she'd bought the others from Knockturn Alley to celebrate becoming an adult, but she'd never actually got round to drinking them.

She had a glass in her bathroom, so she fetched it and poured out a measure of Firewhisky, downing it quickly. Then she poured out another, and when she'd finished that, a third. After that she replaced the glass to the bathroom and hid the Firewhisky back in her trunk, before stripping naked and climbing into bed, falling almost immediately into a deep stupor.

* * *

Molly had learnt the ways of St Mungos Hospital over the past few weeks, becoming used to the endless faceless corridors that smelt of magical disinfectant and the constant parade of stressed Healers and pained patients. After her first few visits, it no longer bothered her. She found herself numb to the discomforts, not even jumping when a patient screamed or yelled out of nowhere.

It was only her sister's illness that bothered her now. Nothing else took her attention, because nothing else was as bad. Supposedly, Lucy was doing well. She'd survived the first four weeks, which is apparently when most of the patients who have the disease fatally will die, because their bodies react badly to the treatment. But she was also beyond the six week point, when patients who will make a quick and easy recovery will start improving.

Apparently, she was doing better. She could now sit up - with help - and eat solid foods - in small amounts, nothing too rich. To Molly, she just looked like a ghost of the baby sister she used to have.

Her parents kept attempting to be cheerful and optimistic, finding the positivity in every bit of news, but Molly knew that the illness was taking its toll. For over two months, at least one of them had been in the hospital every single day, often for twelve hours or more. At one point Molly had come round the corner into the corridor of Lucy's ward and seen her mother leaning against the wall with her arms around her head. Knowing that her mother wouldn't want to be found like this, Molly stepped quietly away and walked randomly around the hospital for a few minutes.

She'd decided not to tell her parents about coming out as gay. The feelings had been there for a long while - now that she thought about it, she'd never really been attracted to men, she'd just hoped that she would become so once she went through puberty. She was sure that her parents would accept her, but her parents were naturally old-fashioned in all things, and she knew it would take a serious, and most likely difficult, conversation. And neither of them seemed to have any energy for that sort of thing. Mostly their conversations were just short, fairly monosyllabic questions and answers, about her schoolwork and any developments in Lucy's treatment.

Her parents had given her a small tablet, which was linked to an identical one they had by a Protean Charm. She was sat in her Transfiguration class when she felt it heat up in the pocket of her robes. _Come now, it's urgent. M._ Shoving it back into her pocket, she raised her hand and asked to be excused, which Professor Foxworth nodded to. The teachers had been told to allow her out of lessons if she asked. As she left the classroom, the eyes of the rest of the students followed her.

The classroom was a short walk from Professor Longbottom's office, where she'd been given free range to use the fireplace for Floo. The study was empty, so she shut the door behind her and walked straight through, stepping out into the St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. She was almost knocked over as two Healers ran past her, but it barely phased her and she retained her composure, walking straight through the hospital up to her sister's ward.

It was clear that something was wrong from the commotion that was happening outside the ward; Healers were clustered in the doorway and flowing in and out, talking loudly and gesticulating. She elbowed her way through - the ones who recognised her stepped out her way - and looked about the ward. With a sinking heart, she saw it was Lucy who was causing the commotion.

There was a nurse who she knew quite well, standing a few feet away. 'It's a seizure,' she explained. 'If she survives the next twelve hours, she'll be fine.'

Molly had of course read up on Lucy's illness and how it was treated in St Mungo's. Leukaemia affected the blood-forming tissue in the body, especially bone marrow, causing an overproduction of abnormal white blood cells. While Muggles treated the disease with chemotherapy and drugs, the Wizarding treatment was based on more magical methods. The Sanguo Potion attacked the abnormality in the bone marrow cells, while a series of spells repaired the bone marrow and the blood count.

The issue came when bodies reacted badly to this treatment. As said, often these patients died within the first few weeks, forming most of the proportion of magical patients who died from the disease. A very small number simply didn't respond to the treatment - some of them were quietly referred to Muggle hospitals to see if the non-magical methods worked. Some survived the first few weeks and appeared to be slowly improving, but suddenly went into an intense and rather convulsive fit, called a seizure. This happened when the treatment sent the entire body, including the brain, into a shock. It could last several hours, on and off, and either it would destroy the remaining leukaemia in the body or the patient's body would be unable to maintain the stress, and would die.

Molly's parents were at the end of Lucy's bed, and they seemed to be clutching onto each other, their hands entangled and their bodies leant together. Molly found herself unable to look away from the bed, where her sister was convulsing uncontrollably. A number of Healers were around her, casting spells and forcing open her mouth to make her swallow potions through tubes.

Feeling someone take her arm, she looked around to see that the nurse was still beside her. 'No reason for you to be here, honey. Why don't you come back in a little while?'

She shook her head. 'No. I have to stay.'

The nurse shrugged. 'Well, okay then. But sit down in this chair here.'

Molly did so, and after a brief squeeze of her shoulder the nurse left her. Occasionally she gave her a glass of water or asked if she was alright, but mostly Molly was left alone.

She didn't know how much time passed, but after a while the seizure appeared to be subsiding, or at least Lucy wasn't convulsing so much. Most of the Healers left, apart from a couple still administering to her, and another who went over to speak to her parents. 'There's not much more we can do for her now. Her body has to fight it alone from here - we've helped all we can. If she makes it through to the morning, she'll survive. We'll check her vitals every few hours.'

Molly's father started sobbing, clutching her mother to him. Lucy appeared to be dozing, her convulsions reduced to periodic twitches in her body. As the Healers finished administering to Lucy and left her, Molly moved her chair over to beside Lucy's bed, and her parents sat down on the opposite side. The ward was empty - all the other patients had been moved out the way to other wards. In the quiet, Molly's parents quietly fell asleep, leaning against each other, their hands entwined in their laps.

Molly stared at her sister. Under the thin covers of the bed, the lines of her body were clear. Her knees stuck up, dipping down low along her skeletal thighs and shins, reaching the comparatively mountainous heights of her sharp hip bones and feet. Her stomach was a bowl, and she could count the individual ribs on her chest, each looking as thin and delicate as Molly's littlest finger. Her own hands were spidery, appearing overlarge compared to her wrists and arms, which were as thin as Molly's index and middle finger put together. The bone structure of her face was razor sharp, the cheekbones and jaw prominent as the cheeks sunk in between them, the skin papery and greyish-white. Her eyes, too big for her thinned face, were surrounded by dark purple. Her hair, pale strawberry blonde, straggled thinly against the pillow. If not for the rasp of her breath and the gentle rise and fall of her chest, she could've passed for an emaciated corpse.

'Molly?'

Her sister's voice rattled in the quiet. She hadn't noticed her opening her eyes. They, at least, were unchanged - the warm dark brown that was the one feature they shared perfectly. Lucy's thin, pale lips turned up in a weak smile. Gasping back tears, Molly smiled as well, and took her sister's hand, making it disappear in her own.

'You feeling alright?' she asked, quietly so as not to wake their parents.

'Been better,' Lucy whispered. 'I … I heard something about how important tonight is. It's a seizure, isn't it?'

'Do you remember anything? From the past few hours?'

Lucy shook her head, a few millimetres to either side. 'I remember I was trying to drink, and I felt really strange. And then I woke up now. Is it a seizure?'

Molly nodded. Like her, Lucy had read up on her illness and her treatment - against the wishes of their parents. They seemed to want her to protect her, somehow, even while strange potions were causing her agony in her bones. Molly had snuck her a book on magical treatments that she'd taken from the Library at Hogwarts.

'So it's all about the next few hours?'

'Yes.'

Lucy smiled again. 'At least it'll all be sorted soon. Thank you, Molly.'

'That's okay.'

'Molly … will you climb in? I feel cold. I … I don't think anyone's hugged me recently. Not properly. Mum and Dad always act like I'm breakable.'

'You are quite breakable at the moment,' said Molly, smiling. She squeezed onto the bed beside her sister, who nestled against her, resting her head against Molly's shoulder.

'Will you talk to me?' asked Lucy in a small voice.

'What about?'

'Anything. Everything. We haven't talked for ages. I can't remember the last time I heard something that wasn't about Healing and illness. Tell me something real?'

Molly thought in the darkness. 'I'm gay.'

Lucy shifted the tiniest bit. 'Tell me something I don't know, Molly.' They giggled, the tiniest bit. 'What gossip is there from Hogwarts? It's so boring at home.'

'Well … you know Dom's boyfriend, Nukes, the one everyone said was a bad influence? He got sent off to Durmstrang and hasn't contacted her at all, didn't even tell her.'

'Really? Wow. I liked him, he was funny.'

'Yeah. Anyway and then …'


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Back at Hogwarts, the cousins had been quietly informed about the situation with Lucy's illness, and Victoire and Albus had been let into the Gryffindor Tower so that they could all sit together and await news. The rest of the house knew something serious was happening with the clan and quietly left them where they were, sat round a fireplace together in silence.

As the night drew later, most of the younger kids fell asleep one by one, until it was only Dominique and Victoire sat up staring into the low-burning embers of the fire. Dom had her arm around Louis, fast asleep against her, and Victoire had Albus and Rose on either side of her. The clock on the mantlepiece quietly chimed - it was two in the morning.

'When do you think we'll hear?' Dom's voice was low, slightly hoarse from tiredness. 'Do you think they'll send us a message or will we have to wait for Molly to return?'

'I don't know,' said Victoire. She glanced at her younger sister. Dom seemed to be growing her hair, or at least she hadn't had a haircut for a while. Victoire realised that she couldn't remember the last time they'd had a proper conversation together. 'How are you, Dom?'

Her sister looked round, awkwardly brushing a lock of hair out her eye while trying to keep Louis still. In the dim light, their little brother looked very young and Dom looked suddenly like an adult to Victoire. 'Fine, I guess. Molly and I have made up, and it seems to be quite permanent.'

'Is that since she …'

'Came out? Yeah. People were being complete dicks to her and she was just handling it so well. Ignoring them all. I was surprised she had it in her - I respected her more, after that.'

Albus shifted against Victoire, pulling his blanket tighter around himself and then falling back into a snuffly sleep. 'She's braver than we think,' said Victoire. 'She's dealt with more than most adults would be able to handle in the last few months.'

Dominique nodded. 'How're you, anyway?'

Victoire was quiet for a little while before replying: 'I went to see Teddy.'

'What, to meet with him?'

'No. Jessica and I, we went to see him perform in _The Dancing Gypsy_. I didn't realise his music career was going so well - did you know?'

'Well I've never been one for reading _Witch Weekly_ but you hear it on the grapevine, so yeah. What happened?'

'He's really good. But he sang this song about me, and I just couldn't stay. He's moving on, Dom. He recognised me in the bar as the song ended and I had to leave, I just ran. And I haven't heard anything from him since, so I guess he's happy being the latest heartthrob musician,' said Victoire, staring into the fire.

'You underestimate him, Victoire, he's not that shallow. I know he cared about you, and even if your relationship can't work at the moment, don't give up altogether on it never happening again,' replied Dom.

'But how would it ever work? If his career continues on its current trajectory, he'll be touring off around the world for the next few years, while if _my_ career goes how I want it to go I'll be tied to St Mungo's and London.'

'That is a problem,' said Dom. 'I guess you'll just have to roll with it and see how things play out? How's the whole Healer thing going anyway?'

'Alright I guess. I got offers for the internships I wanted for Diagnostics and Implementation, but it won't come to a job or anything if I don't get excellent grades in the summer.'

'Oh don't be so depressive,' scoffed Dom. 'You've received offers for the most competitive internships, you're on track to get great grades. You've got to stop getting so stressed out, Victoire!'

Victoire turned to smile at her younger sister, who was looking at her with an exasperated expression. 'Thanks, Dom. It's nice, chatting like this. We haven't done it for a while.'

'I know it's been great,' retorted Dom.

She was going to retort, but then they both turned as someone came through the Portrait Hole into the Common Room. It was Professor Longbottom, holding a letter in his hand. He looked as if he'd had just as much sleep as the two of them. 'Ah, I thought I'd find all of you here.' At their movement, Louis, Albus and Rose had stirred, and looked around at Longbottom, rubbing their eyes.

'Professor?' said Victoire softly. 'Is there news?'

She felt Rose and Albus slip their hands into hers and she squeezed them tight. Longbottom nodded, unfolding the letter. 'Lucy has pulled through the worst of the night. She's going to make a recovery.'

'What?'

'Oh my goodness.'

Dom wrapped her arms around Louis, Albus and Rose hugged Victoire, and James, Roxanne and Fred woke up at the commotion and cheered when they found out the news. Longbottom smiled at them all and rubbed his crumpled face, handing the letter to Victoire to read.

'Merlin, she had a seizure,' murmured Victoire as she read it. She'd borrowed Molly's copy of _Magical Medicines for Muggle Maladies_ and read it about a month ago.

'What's that?' asked Rose, blinking sleepily now that the excitement was dying down.

'It's a turning point in the illness. It's very serious.'

'Right, all of you,' said Professor Longbottom. 'I understand you all wanting to stay up and wait for news, but now you must all go to bed. It's very late - or should I say, very early. Victoire, Albus, will you be alright getting back to your dormitories?'

'I'll get Albus back,' said Victoire, tapping him on the shoulder. Albus got sleepily to his feet and followed her out while the rest of them trooped off to their respective dormitories. The castle was very dark, and Albus was glad for the hand Victoire kept on his shoulder as they walked. He glimpsed some scurrying movement, but she just murmured that it was the House Elves starting their cleaning of the castle. 'How are you, Albus?' murmured Victoire as they reached one of the larger staircases and set of down it, the eyes of the portraits on the walls following them down. 'I noticed you weren't really speaking with Rose tonight. Are you two having an argument?'

Albus furrowed his brow, staring down at his feet as they appeared and disappeared under his robes with each step. 'I guess so. I don't think she likes that I'm in Slytherin. And she and Scorpius don't get on.'

'I see. So you're angry about this?'

'Yeah. She basically said that she only wants to hang out with me in the holidays, because she doesn't think the other Gryffindors would like her if she's hanging out with a Slytherin. It's not fair, she's being prejudiced!' he whined. 'She should apologise.'

'I know she's in the wrong,' said Victoire calmly. 'But it's always good to fly on another's broomstick before you judge them. Remember that even though you've found a close group of friends, not everyone is so lucky so quickly. I'm sure that this is coming from nervousness about fitting in, instead of actual bigotry. But I'll talk to her, make sure that she understands that anyone who judges her for inter-house fraternising isn't someone worth spending time with.'

'Thanks, Victoire.'

The walk down to the dungeons seemed to be taking a long time, but then all of a sudden they were stood in front of the familiar blank stretch of wall that marked the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room.

'Will you be alright from here?' asked Victoire softly, and Albus nodded. She waited until he'd said the password - "parseltongue" - and then disappeared off towards the Ravenclaw Tower. It was so late that the Common Room was almost deserted. Albus only saw the shadowy figures of a pair of Seventh Years still up working on essays, off in a corner together. His eyes blurry with fatigue, he hurried through and went up to his dormitory, his feet dragging on the stairs.

As he pushed open the dormitory door - slowly, so the creaking wouldn't wake anyone - he heard the soft snores of Leo and Hugh Stanley, fast asleep in their beds. He was pulling off his own robes when Scorpius sat up from the next bed.

'Is your cousin alright?' he murmured, his voice low.

'Yes,' whispered Albus, crawling into bed.

'I'm glad,' said Scorpius, and then he lay down and seemed to go quickly to sleep. Albus lay for a while in the darkness, listening to the soothing sounds of the wind against the windowpane, but before long the lateness of the hour and his own tiredness were too much, and he slipped into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

In all the fuss over Molly and Lucy, Dominique hadn't been paying much attention to the state of her own affairs; she didn't really have to make much effort with her friends, as they seemed to get that things were quite serious in her family and so let her drift in and out as she wished. But as Lucy started to get better and the commotion around Molly coming out the closet died down, Dom discovered to her surprise that the presence of Toby Montgomery reappeared in her life.

It was now a bit over a fortnight since they'd met, at the after party of the match against Hufflepuff - the longest fortnight of Dom's life. They hadn't spoken since the party, and as he wasn't in any of her lessons or her house, she hadn't thought much about him and had supposed that he'd forgotten about her.

So she was very surprised when during one of her rare sojourns to the Library, she noticed someone was stood by her table and looked up to see him, holding a stack of books and some parchment. 'Is this place free?' he asked, indicating to the seat opposite her. She nodded, quietly drawing in her legs which had been stretched out, and shifting some of her things to make space.

Neither of them spoke for a little while, and as he seemed to be focussing on his work Dom took the moment to quietly look at him. He was well-dressed, like most Slytherins boys, and his hair followed the style of his house in that it was combed back and the ends curled slightly at the nape of his neck. She liked that instead of being freakishly neat with it, he'd allowed a couple of thin locks to come loose and curl over his forehead like a quotation mark.

'Are you looking at me, Weasley?'

She hurriedly looked down at her essay, furious at herself that she was blushing. Toby Montgomery smirked and, placing his quill down, leant back in his chair, stretching his arms above him. He was broad-shouldered and well-built, instead of skinny like most of the boys in her year.

'Alright, Weasley, I'll get to the point as you seem to like straight-forward guys, or at least you must've if you went for that Nukes bloke. I think you're attractive and intelligent, so would you like to come have a drink with me on Saturday 30th. It's our next Hogsmeade weekend.'

Dom stared at him, confused, but he just grinned back at her. 'What did you say about Nukes?' she asked, her brain going to the least relevant part of the conversation. Toby laughed.

'I have nothing against that guy, but he didn't exactly come across as deep, and anyway his brain must've been entirely calcified if he thought it was alright to just abandon you without a word and go off to the snowy wastes of Durmstrang. You'll freeze your balls off, there. But anyway, back to the question in hand. WIll you come for a drink with me?'

'Isn't this our second conversation?' asked Dom, frowning at him.

'Actually, no, it's our third. In your first year you asked me where your Transfiguration classroom was. I remember because I couldn't believe a First Year could be quite so rude and abrasive,' he said.

'Wow, you're really buttering me up there.'

'I've already called you attractive and intelligent, what more are you asking for? I'm afraid I won't start addressing you as 'divine goddess'.'

She laughed. 'Please don't. Look, I think you're great, it's just there's been so much on my plate recently that I don't quite know where I'm at. I'll have to get back to you.' She put her things in her schoolbag and stood up.

'Well don't keep me waiting for long, look at all these ladies waiting to jump on this,' he replied, raising his arms as if there was a throng of women waiting patiently behind him. She smiled, and then left the Library. As she did, she heard familiar footsteps behind her and looked round to see Gary Donnelly joining her.

'Are you going to start dating that Montgomery bloke?' he asked, his brow creasing in a heavy frown. Dom shrugged. 'I don't know about him,' he said darkly.

'I don't know yet, Gary, but he seems alright. On the spectrum of Slytherins, he's at the good end. And I'm pretty sure my family would prefer him to Nukes - I heard he got five O's in his OWLs. My parents would wet themselves if they found out.'

Gary shrugged. 'Alright, fine. I'm not saying this because I love you or anything - sorry, Dom, but you look like a bit of a freckly freak to me - it's just you were a right mess when Nukes left and I can't be arsed to deal with that again.'

'It's alright, Gary, I can take care of myself.'

He muttered something that sounded like "that's what you think", and Dom chose to ignore it. She was quite sure, anyway, that this business with Toby would dissipate and quietly come to nothing.

Toby didn't seem to have this idea, however. She was sat eating her eggs and bacon the next morning when he sat down opposite her. 'So, you've had about fifteen hours to think. Have you realised quite how handsome and charming I am yet?' His cheek dimpled as he smiled.

'I've realised quite how persistent and annoying you are,' she said when she'd swallowed her mouthful of eggs.

'Come on Weasley, one drink. Are you worried about crossing 'house lines' by dating a Slytherin?'

She narrowed her eyes at him. 'Of course not.'

'Well then, what's the problem?'

She purposefully ate another mouthful before replying, and chewed slowly. 'Alright, fine. One drink. And you're paying.'

'I know. It wouldn't be a date otherwise, would it?' He smirked at her, and she replied with a glare, but he just laughed and stood up. 'I have to get to Transfiguration, or Foxworth will string me up. Looking forward to our date, Weasley.'

Dom sat next to Molly in Ancient Runes - she could copy her translation when she became completely lost, which was often - and as she dropped into her seat her cousin arched an eyebrow at her. 'So. Toby Montgomery.'

'Everyone seems to be asking me about him,' said Dom. 'It's not as if we're locked in a passionate affair all of a sudden, we're just going for a drink.'

'I didn't know you were going for a drink!' exclaimed Molly, as they opened their books of hieroglyphics. 'At the weekend?'

'Merlin, is it that soon?' asked Dom, flicking through Molly's diary to check. 'It is! Didn't realise that. Yeah, we're going for a drink, but it doesn't mean anything. He's a Slytherin, he'll shift his attractions within a week. I'm just doing this to stop him pestering me.'

'Sure,' said Molly, pushing her glasses up her nose as she peered at the passage they were supposed to be translating. Dom was annoyed by her scepticism - why did no one get that she wasn't viewing this as anything? - but she couldn't think of a retort, so just got on with her own translation in an effort to end the conversation.

The bad weather had blown itself out, and the overcast sky on Saturday was the colour of a dusty dishcloth. Dom found Toby Montgomery in the courtyard outside the Entrance Hall, leant against a pillar with his cloak swept back over his shoulders. She was surprised to see him in Muggle attire - even though it was becoming more and more fashionable among the students, she always expected Slytherin students to stay traditional. But he was wearing a pair of charcoal-coloured chinos with a deep blue jumper that accentuated his broad build.

'Hello, Weasley,' he said when he saw her, the corner of his mouth turning up in a smile, 'or should I call you Dominique, now that you've agreed to come on a date with me?'

'Dom is fine.'

'Alright then, Dominique, shall we go?' She glared at him, but shrugged and they set off through the courtyard and down the drive towards Hogsmeade. They were pointedly separate from any of the groups heading down to the village, and Dom felt a little awkward as heads turned in their direction and people put their heads together to talk. She and Nukes had never done any public dates like this - they'd just sort-of slipped into a relationship and then when everyone knew about it, started to act as a couple publically.

To her surprise, conversation with Toby was entertaining, and came very easily after the first few awkward minutes. They reached the main street of the village in no time, and to Dom's joy they got their own table in The Three Broomsticks, meaning that they wouldn't have to sit with obviously eavesdropping fellow students.

'The question is, Weasley,' said Toby, after they'd been talking for a couple of hours. 'Why exactly wouldn't you want to date me? Now that we've established that neither of us are boring or stupid, what's standing in our way to having a good time?'

Dom shrugged, staring down at her empty glass. 'I don't know … I guess I'm just not sure what I want at the moment.'

'How about this?' He reached across the table and gently took her chin, guiding her to look up at him. She stared into his eyes for a moment - they were steely grey, with just the faintest tinge of blue at the edges and close to black around his dilated pupils - and then he leant across the table and kissed her.

His mouth tasted of Butterbeer, and she supposed hers did too. He didn't kiss like Nukes had kissed her, with a forceful strength to it, but she found she liked it and felt herself wanting to lean into the kiss, to run her hands through his hair or grab his shirt to pull him closer. She resisted, of course, as they were sat in public, but found herself feeling rather breathless as they pulled away from each other.

They left The Three Broomsticks soon after, and as they started to walk back towards the castle, silhouetted against the darkening sky, Toby placed a hand on the small of her back, pulling her close to him.

'So as you enjoyed this - don't lie I know you did,' said Toby, smirking down at her as they reached the castle, 'are we going to be seeing more of each other?'

Um, I don't know?' said Dom, cringing inside at her answer. But she wasn't lying - she actually didn't know quite where her head was at.

'Well, can I kiss you again?' She looked up at him and couldn't help smiling, and as she did he leant down and kissed her only the lips again, softly, in a way that made her crave more and arch her body closer to him as his hand pressed against her back and she held onto him.

* * *

It was a bright May morning, but the Gryffindor supporters were feeling a little despondent as their team trailed behind Ravenclaw by fifty points. It was looking like the final for the Quidditch Cup would be played between Ravenclaw and Slytherin for that year. As she chased up a Bludger and smacked it towards one of the Ravenclaw Chasers, Dom felt herself become steadily angrier at her team captain.

Basil Hartley had been playing consistently badly in the past few weeks of practice, or at least well below the standard that the team captain should be at, and he was doing no better in the match. He was slow, unresponsive, his reaction time about half what was required of him as Keeper. So far he'd let in eleven goals for the Ravenclaw Team, and only saved four. The Gryffindor Chasers were doing their best - James especially was red in the face from exertion - but the Ravenclaw Keeper was the best in the school, and with Hartley playing as he was they just couldn't keep up.

Swearing under her breath as the Ravenclaw Chasers scored again, Dom kicked her broom around and sped off towards Danny, who was targeting his opposing Beater at the other end of the pitch. Together they pulled off a few more moves and tried to attack the Ravenclaw Seeker. They were only sixty points behind - if Kendra Halliwell could catch the snitch now, they might be able to claw a victory back again. But the Ravenclaw Seeker, Jimenez, managed to just about evade their Bludgers and keep flying.

Twenty minutes later, it was all over. Jimenez snatched the Snitch out the air before Kendra could even catch up, and the blue-and-bronze supporters erupted in cheers. The final for the Inter-House Quidditch Cup would be between Slytherin and Ravenclaw that year, as Gryffindor lost the match 270 - 80.

Dom flew over to James, who was slumped despondently over his broomstick, and caught him by the shoulder. 'Don't look so morose,' she said encouragingly, 'you got us thirty of those points. It's not your fault we lost.'

'If I'd just worked a bit harder,' he said, kicking the air and staring down at his broom. 'If I'd just put a little bit more effort in, we could've done better. Maybe then we wouldn't've lost, or at least not so badly.' He turned his broomstick towards the ground and Dom followed him, the two of them landing smoothly on the grass. They started to walk towards the edge of the pitch.

'James, buck up. You did excellently. It's not your fault we lost, it's the fault of those prats Halliwell and Hartley for playing like disabled squids. You should be proud of yourself - you kept it together and didn't fall apart when we started losing, you kept putting effort in and tryng to bring it back.'

'We're certainly proud,' said a voice behind them, and they both turned to see James' parents stood behind them, with his little sister Lily. James' face broke into a smile and he ran to hug his father, who wrapped his arms around him. 'You were extremely impressive James, I'm sorry you lost. I'm sure that next year you'll get the Cup - if only more of the team could put in as much effort and skill as you.'

Harry and Ginny smiled at Dom over their son's head. 'Hello, Dom,' said Ginny, reaching out to hug her. 'We thought you were great, too. On that note - some guests we were stood with want to speak to you.'

'Guests? Like … scouts?' asked Dom, her heart jumping against her ribs.

'Before you go, we're getting lunch in Hogsmeade, at The Three Broomsticks. You're welcome to join us - tell any other cousins you see,' said Ginny. 'We've got permission for you all to come out of Hogwarts for the afternoon.'

'Yes, we should probably find Albus,' said Harry, putting his arm around James. 'Anyway, you go Dom. The other guests will still be in the box, I think, just up the stairs here.'

Dom took the stairs two at a time. Two men and a woman were stood speaking to Professor Caesar. Jimenez also seemed to have been called to the box - the tanned boy smiled at Dom as she appeared.

'No hard feelings?' he asked, one eye winking lazily at her. 'You played fine, anyway, it's just that lump of a Keeper you have. Why is he your Captain again?'

'Search me,' said Dom. They shook hands, and then Caesar beckoned them over.

'Jimenez, Weasley, this is Hodges, Belfry and Dewe. They work in recruitment for some Quidditch Teams in the league. I'll leave you all to talk - perhaps a drink afterwards?' said Caesar, smiling jovially at them all.

'Yes, we'll meet you down in the village,' said the bearded man called Hodges, and Caesar left. The box was now empty, and the three scouts turned to Jimenez and Weasley. Hodges spoke, while the other two seemed to observe them. 'So, good match there we thought. Entertaining - despite your Keeper and Seeker, Weasley. We especially admired how you two played. What years are you, may I ask?'

'Seventh Year,' said Jimenez. The boy couldn't keep the grin off his face.

'Fifth Year,' said Weasley.

'Ah, yes, that's a little young at the moment,' said Hodges to Dom. 'But you're very skilled already. We try to encourage youth to complete all seven years of their education, otherwise you end up with a proliferation of students leaving a year early to attempt to follow a Quidditch career, and then not having the qualifications for a Plan B in case it all falls through. So, keep playing as you are, and we'll speak to you in a couple of years, alright?'

'Alright,' said Dom, grinning and shaking his hand. He turned to speak to Jimenez, and Dom left the box. On the way down she met Toby, stood chatting with his friends. When he saw her, he stepped away from them all and came over, smiling.

'It couldn't be scouts that you were speaking to up there, could it?' he asked.

'It could be,' she said, smiling up at him. 'They said I'm still a bit young, but they'll talk to me again in a couple of years. Anyway, my aunt and uncle - James' parents - they invited me for lunch down at the village, so I'll see you later?'

'Have fun,' he replied, kissing her lightly. His friends had started to set off back towards the castle, and he hurried off to join them. Dom turned towards the changing rooms, wanting to at least change her clothes so that she didn't stink up the pub at lunch.

In the Gryffindor changing rooms, Basil Hartley was having the expected temper tantrum, yelling at people for no apparent reason and kicking or pummelling inanimate objects. Dom stepped forward as he roared at James for not handing him his bag quick enough, but before she could do anything James fired back that at least he acted quickly on the pitch. Now purple in the face, Basil snatched his bag off the bench and marched out the room.

'I'm guessing no scouts spoke to him?' said Dom to Jamie Fitzgerald, who shook his head.

'No scouts. I'm seeing a dull desk job in his future, instead of glitzy glory as a Quidditch star. I've heard rumours about scouts talking to you, anyway. Congratulations.'

'Thanks.'

* * *

Easter passed all too quickly, and all of a sudden it was the summer term and, for the older students, the impending examinations seemed very near indeed. Dominique was fairly unstressed by it all - relative to Molly and Victoire, she was positively relaxed. She knew that the careers she wanted to follow wouldn't require particularly high grades, so she was just faintly amused by the seemingly extreme stress that Molly and Victoire were under.

'Merlin, Dom, why do you have to track your muddy boots through here?' snapped Molly one day when Dom came in from Quidditch practice. She was sat on her bed, which was so covered in books and notes that the red-and-gold covers were no longer visible. 'Honestly, aren't you going to do _any_ work?'

'Maybe some reading later,' she replied, sitting down on the edge of her bed and starting to unlace her boots. Molly huffed, and went back to reading through her notes, so Dom went to take a shower.

As he was a Sixth Year, Toby's exams didn't matter so he wasn't particularly worried about them either, but he seemed strangely invested in Dom doing well. She'd explained to him - several times - that neither playing Quidditch nor studying creatures like her Uncle Charlie required high grades. But still, he insisted almost every time they hung out together that he help her study.

'You know we could do much more interesting things,' murmured Dom one evening, pulling at the buttons of his shirt. He caught her hand and held it, smiling crookedly at her.

'So, back to Gamp's Laws,' he said, turning back to the notes they were supposed to be reading. Dom groaned and rolled away from him, batting the book out his hands. They were lying on his bed, in his empty dormitory, which in her head meant at the very least making out. But Toby seemed to want to trawl through the entire Transfiguration syllabus before anything sexual happened. He raised his eyebrows at her as she scowled at him, pushing her hair out her face. It was at that annoying length where it wouldn't say off her face.

'What? Don't you want to study?' he asked, a crease appearing between his eyebrows.

'No! Okay, maybe I should a bit, but I don't want to spend every time that we're together looking at bloody Gimp's Laws!'

'It's Gamp but - okay, okay, I get why you might be annoyed. I just want the best for you. I think that it's important that you do well in your OWL exams!' he said.

'Toby, I've already told you, it doesn't matter to me whether or not I do well in these exams! And anyway, we've only been going out a month. You can't start dictating whether I work or not yet.'

He smiled at her, taking the book out her hands. 'Alright. How about, if you humour me and do a bit of work, then you can come stay with me in the summer? My parents are off working across the world most of the time, so we can spend a few weeks just us, hanging out, getting drunk, doing … whatever we want to do,' he said, smiling and running a hand up her side.

Dom still scowled at him. 'You're very annoying.'

'Yes but this cute face means you can't help but forgive me... '

Despite her seemingly blase attitude about the OWL exams, even Dom couldn't help feeling a little bit of nervousness as she waited outside the Great Hall before her first exam. It was the practical exam for Charms, and they were being called in four at a time. Molly wasn't helping things, either - she was stood beside Dom muttering different spells and their corresponding wand movements.

Professor Chang, the assistant Charms teacher, came out the Great Hall and smiled at the crowd of students. They were being called in backwards alphabetical order, so Dom and Molly were one of the first.

'Let's see … Zabini, Genevieve - Wharton, Laurence - Weasley, Molly - Weasley, Dominique,' she said, consulting a clipboard in her hands. Dom smiled encouragingly at Molly, who looked grey, and then they followed the dark-haired Genevieve and skinny Larry Wharton into the Great Hall.

It was rather echoey and imposingly large with all the House Tables cleared to the sides. A dozen or so squares had been marked out on the floor, with an examiner stood in each. Dom thought how ancient they all looked - the one Chang directed her towards was well past the one-hundred mark.

'Miss Weasley, is it?' said the man in a slightly hoarse voice. 'Wonderful. Now, no need to be nervous, just do your best, eh? Now, I'm going to ask you to perform a series of spells, starting off relatively easy and getting harder. Let's start ... face away from the other students, please, so no distractions! First … please could you execute the Levitation Charm for me on this cup.'

Dom smiled. She knew that one! Pointing her wand at the cup, which was sat on a small pedestal at shoulder height, she did the 'swish and flick' movement and murmured 'Wingardium Leviosa!' The cup rose into the air and hovered a foot above the pedestal for half a minute. It did wobble a little at intervals, and she could've perhaps been a little smoother bringing it back down to the pedestal, but she didn't think she'd done too badly in all.

But as the examiner warned her, it got steadily harder with each spell. Dom felt her heart sink when, after she successfully made a kitten glow, the examiner asked her to cast the Silencing Charm on it. Her Fifth Year class had spent two gruelling weeks on the Silencing Charm, and by the end her ability with it was unreliable at best, the raven she practiced on still letting out an occasional whispery 'caw'.

Glaring at the kitten, which was obliviously scratching at the pedestal, she pointed her wand at it and, giving it every ounce of concentration and brainpower she had, she said loudly: 'Silencio!' There was a pause, as both her and the examiner stared at the kitten. It seemed to have gone silent. Then, as the examiner turned to write on his clipboard, Dom heard it let out an almost inaudible mew. She froze, looking between it and the examiner to try and discern whether he heard, but the man gave nothing away.

'Well, that's it now, the practical exam has ended, you may go.'

Another two groups had come in while Dom was doing her exam, and she walked quickly between the two rows, nodding to Professor Chang before leaving the Hall. She glanced behind her as she walked into the Entrance Hall and saw Molly had come out behind her, looking faintly tinged with green now instead of grey.

'How'd it go for you?' she asked, slowing her pace to walk beside her. 'I think I might've missed it with that Silencing Charm, I don't know if he heard though. I'm guessing you did everything perfectly?'

Molly shook her head. 'I don't know, I don't think that my kitten glowed brightly enough, they'll probably mark me down for that. My Levitation Charm was steady though, so that's good, and …'

'Sorry Molly, but I'm not going to go through the entire exam with you. Do that with your Ravenclaw friends,' said Dom. 'I, for one, am going to go do some flying.'

'Flying?' Molly was incredulous. 'Seriously?'

'Yes. Exercise helps you concentrate, you know.'

Molly shook her head in exasperation, but she'd learnt not to try and stop Dom from acting exactly as she wished in such cases. They reached the turning towards the Library and parted, Molly to study and Dom to get her broomstick.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

The Great Hall had never felt hotter, or at least not in Victoire's memory. It was the warmest day of the summer yet, and the heat seemed to have removed the oxygen from the room. She bent over her Transfiguration paper, attempting to read through the essays again even though her eyes swam and the words blurred together. The irregular tap of one of the invigilators' footsteps was driving into her brain. The tapping stopped, and she looked up to see that the last few grains of strand were falling through the narrow of the giant hourglass at the far end of the hall.

'Time … is … up!' called one of the invigilators. 'Everyone please stop writing, make sure that your name is written on your exam paper, and sit in _silence_ until you are dismissed.'

Victoire sat back, rolling her sheets of parchment together. Her final exam was over. She glanced to her left, but Jonny Walker was staring straight ahead and seemed to be refusing to look at her. A vein was jumping in his neck. She sighed inwardly, and looked straight forward again, smiling at the invigilator as she took her scroll.

'That is everyone - you are dismissed!'

Victoire stood up, managing to keep her pace at a walk until she was through the doors and into the Entrance Hall, when she ran to Jessica and grabbed her, the two of them hugging each other and screeching with happiness. The whole class was laughing and cheering. To top it off, it was a beautiful day.

'I cannot believe our exams are actually over!' squealed Jessica. 'And we've got graduation in a week - is your speech ready?'

Professor Longbottom had requested that she give a speech in the graduation ceremony - apparently she was the 'high-achiever' of the year. Jonny Walker had turned green when he'd heard. Victoire shrugged, pulling the tie out the end of her plait and threading through it with her fingers so that it fell loose over her shoulders.

'It'll be fine. I just can't believe that we have to wear those god-awful hats, I'm going to look like a complete idiot on stage.' The graduating hats were similar to school ones, except they had long tassels on the end which could look very comical.

'Oh shut up, you'll pull off anything!'

They walked out the castle and headed down the slope towards the lake, which was winking and glistening in the sunlight. All around the edges students were messing about, jumping in the water or dragging each other in, laughing and screaming. On a patch of lush grass Dominique and Toby were lying together, drying out in the sun having been splashing about in the lake. Their exams had finished a week before Victoire's, but they had to stay until the end of all the OWL exams, so they were spending a few idyllic days in the sunny Hogwarts grounds.

'Hey Victoire!' Called Dom, raising an arm as she walked past. She was lying with her head on Toby's bare chest. 'How'd it go?'

'Not bad,' replied Victoire. She and Jessica walked on, and Dom rolled over onto her front to look at Toby. He smiled lazily at her through his lashes.

'What?'

'It's just so peaceful,' she murmured, sitting up and stretching. 'I don't think i've ever felt this content.'

'And we're going to Toulouse on Wednesday.' Seemingly every Slytherin student's family had a second home somewhere in the warmer parts of Europe, and the Montgomery family was no different. Dom had written to her parents, asking whether she could go stay with a friend's family through July. She hadn't mentioned that she was dating said friend, nor that his parents would be absent most of the time. Her parents had eased up on her since Christmas, but she wasn't about to test it.

'I can't wait,' she said, bending down to kiss him softly on the lips. His hand slid up her back, but they were sat on the school lawn surrounded by about two hundred fellow students, so they couldn't do anything. Dom pulled away, giggling as she straightened up and shook back her hair.

As she looked across the lawn, her eyes rested on a figure up towards the crest of the hill who was unmistakably familiar. Toby seemed to notice a change in her expression, and took her hand.

'What is it?'

She opened her mouth, and then closed it again. She couldn't speak. Her heart was thumping against her ribs and her stomach was churning so much she was worried she was going to vomit. Nukes was striding across the lawn towards them, and he had not missed what was going on.

Toby sat up as well and looked around, following her gaze. 'Oh, fuck. What's he doing here?'

Nukes reached them and stopped a few metres away, his arms crossed over his chest so that his biceps bulged. Dom noticed that his hair was shaved short, and he had a new tattoo on his arm of a skull with fangs. He glared at them both.

'What is this?' His voice was low and dangerous. Dom placed a hand on Toby's shoulder as she stood up, taking a step towards Nukes. 'You're dating _him_? What's going on, Dom?'

'I think you're the one who needs to be answering questions, Nukes. Where have you been for the past six months? You left me without a word.'

'I was sent to Durmstrang by my mother!'

'I know that. Longbottom told me after Christmas, because you hadn't told me!'

Their voices had started to become raised, and they were drawing the attention of the people around them.

'I _couldn't_ tell you, Dom, you're not allowed to send owls in Durmstrang, they have some policy about isolation. I - I thought you'd wait for me, Dom. I've spent the last six months waiting to see you again, I came here as soon as I could, and now I find this? I guess I was wrong about you.'

'Don't do that, Nukes!' snapped Dom. 'If you'd cared so much about me, you would've made more effort to make contact. But you chose the easy way out and I'm sorry, but I've moved on. I guess you'll have to get over it - I'm just sorry that all the Durmstrang girls have facial hair.'

She turned away, but Nukes stepped forward and grabbed her shoulder, and as she tried to pull away he made her trip and stumble to the ground.

'Hey!' Toby was on his feet, pulling his wand out of his shorts and pointing it at Nukes, whose wand was also now in his hand. 'Get away from her, Noakes.'

'Careful, pretty boy. In Durmstrang they teach us spells that are _much_ more dangerous than the child's play you learn here. I don't think Dom will feel much for you once I have to whimpering like a kicked puppy!'

'Enough!' Dom was on her feet as well now, and she quickly Disarmed both Toby and Nukes, catching the wands neatly in her right hand. 'Stop it, both of you. I'm sorry, Nukes, but you left me without a word and you can't expect me to wait around after that. Please, can we leave this as friends?'

Nukes sighed, and shrugged, running a hand over his shaved head. 'Fine, sorry. Will you give me my wand back?' She handed it back to him, and there was a brief pause before he turned it on Toby. He was unarmed and the jet of dark red light hit him squarely in the face. Yelling in pain, he stumbled backwards and clutched his face, where red sores were breaking out.

Blocking the spell Dom shot at him, Nukes stepped towards Toby, turning his wand back towards him. 'D-Dom!' Understanding, Dom threw his wand at him, and somehow through his swollen-shut eyes he caught it, and pointed it at Nukes, who flew into the air and landed hard on his shoulder.

'I'm going to fucking kill you!' roared Nukes, rolling over to point his wand at Dom, now.

'You will do no such thing!' Nukes' wand flew out his hand again, and Dom turned around to find Professor Longbottom striding towards them. 'Noakes, how dare you come onto school property like this without invitation and attack our students! You will be escorted off this property immediately. Dominique - please take Mr Montgomery there to the Hospital Wing immediately.'

'Yes, Professor. I'm sorry this happened.'

'That's alright, I can see it's not your fault. Noakes, if you please?'

He placed a hand on his shoulder and started to lead him away, but he dragged his feet, looking over his shoulder at Dom as she went to Toby, helping him up off the ground. 'Dom - Dom, please, I didn't mean for it to be like this … Dom, I'm sorry!'

She ignored him, putting her arm around Toby and leading him away through the silent, watching students. As they reached the doors into the Entrance Hall Dominique heard hurried footsteps and glanced over her shoulder to see Victoire hurrying over to them. She caught Toby on the other side.

'This looks nasty,' she said, peering at Toby's face. He moaned, his features swelling up to three times their normal size. 'I don't know the spells to heal it yet, but I can help ease the pain just until we can get to the Hospital Wing. Alright?'

Toby moaned again. 'I think that's yes?' said Dom, smiling as he nodded.

' _Mulcero_ ,' said Victoire, pointing her wand at Toby. His face didn't appear to change, but Dom felt him stand straighter and put less weight on her, and his breathing seemed to ease.

'Thanks,' she said to Victoire, and Toby mumbled something unintelligible.

They got him to the Hospital Wing, where Nurse Pulltisse was administering some sort of calming potion to a pair of sobbing Fifth Year girls. As soon as she noticed Toby, who was being lowered onto an empty bed by Victoire and Dom, she left the girls and hurried over to them. 'Ah, nasty one here. Duelling, are we?'

'He was attacked,' snapped Dom. 'I don't know what the spell was, but it was a Durmstrang student who did it if that helps?'

'Looks like a Valdelor Hex,' said Nurse Pulltisse, frowning at Toby. 'Victoire, have you administered a Soothing Spell? Well done, it's a good one. I'll just go fetch the salves I need. _Minueto_. I'll just go get the salves and potions I need.' The swelling started to go down, so that Toby could talk.

'Toby? Are you alright? I'm so sorry this happened,' said Dom, taking his hand.

'It's alright,' croaked Toby, turning to look at her through eyes that he could now just about crack open. 'You okay?'

'I'm fine. It was just … a shock.'

'What exactly happened, anyway? I was too far away to hear,' said Victoire, sitting down in an unoccupied chair.

'Nukes turned up, I guess his term ends before us, he didn't know that Toby and I were together and things got a little out of hand,' said Dom, squeezing Toby's hand.

'Durmstrang's taught him a few tricks,' said Toby. 'Still, he's gone now. It's lucky that Longbottom turned up when he did.'

'But now your face looks like a grapefruit,' said Dom.

'Oh, no need to worry, it'll be all better by tomorrow!' said the nurse, bustling over with an armful of bottles and jars. 'His handsome face will be back to normal in no time.'

Toby squeezed Dom's hand. 'It's alright, Dom, we'll be in the South of France in no time.'

'Wait, what? _This_ is the friend you're spending July with, Dom? Your boyfriend?' Victoire laughed. 'Well congratulations if you pull that off.'

'You pulled it off when you were in Fifth Year and wanted to go stay with Dylan Waters instead of going to Inverness with us,' said Dom. 'Anyway, I'm not really lying. Toby is a friend - and more - and technically it is the family home we're staying at, there's just not going to be much family about. Please don't say anything, Victoire.'

'No, no, it's alright, I'll keep my mouth shut. I just hope I manage to finish school without any more drama.'

After they left the lake and it became clear that there would be no more public duelling, the other students went back to their former activities. Albus had been jumping in and out of the lake with his friends from a large overhanging boulder, but as Victoria and Leo decided to swim out across the lake in a race towards a floating branch, he sat down on the edge of the boulder beside Scorpius.

Although the sky was clear and the sun was shining, there was a chill in the air and now that he wasn't moving goosepimples appeared on his arms. He examined them casually as his hair dried and he felt it start to stick up into the air. He glanced at Scorpius, who was staring out across the lake with his thoughts a thousand miles away.

'You alright?'

'Yeah.'

He tapped his heels against the rock, picking at some dirt under his fingernails. 'Term's ending soon. It'll be nice to go on holiday.'

'Yeah.'

'I'm glad you're coming to stay with me. It'll be fun.'

'Yeah it will.' They were spending two weeks at Albus' house at the end of July and start of August, and then after that Scorpius would be with his mother in France for the rest of the holiday. It was only the first few weeks of July that were the issue.

Knowing that there wasn't anything Albus could say that would make Scorpius feel better - with his parents happily married at home, he was worried about coming across pitying or annoying. So instead he stayed quiet, until Scorpius silently stood up and jumped into the water, resurfacing and striking out away from the shore.

'Albus?'

He glanced over his shoulder. Rose was stood on the ground below him, a t-shirt and shorts over her swimsuit and her brow furrowed. 'Can I climb up?' He shrugged and she stepped forward, digging her heels into the rock and grabbing for handholds to scrabble her way up to him, taking Scorpius' place.

'Surely you don't want your Gryffindor friends seeing us up here together?' he snapped.

'Albus, please,' she said, reaching out and catching him by the wrist. 'I … I'm sorry. For everything - Victoire spoke to me and I've been a complete idiot. Will you still be friends with me?'

He glanced at her, and then smiled. 'Alright. But you know that means you and Scorpius will have to put up with each other again?' Rose groaned, and his laugh turned into a scream as she shoved him off the rock into the water below.

* * *

The graduating Seventh Year class stretched out before Victoire, divided by house into bright squares of house colours - she couldn't help feeling sorry for the Hufflepuff students, forced to wear horrific banana yellow robes. Taking a deep breath, she glanced down at her notes laid out on the lectern, struggling to keep calm as she looked out at all the people staring back at her. Never look at people's faces when giving a speech, that much she knew, so she raised her eyes to stare out at the castle behind them.

'When I was just a child, my mother told me that when I was singled out for a special reason, I should never forget those who travel with me, and most of all I should never forget those who helped me. She only meant that I shouldn't be smug about the fact that I'd been picked out to lead the dance in my ballet class, but her words have stuck with me throughout my time at Hogwarts. Although I stand here alone on this stage, I don't want any other student in my year to think that they don't deserve to be making this speech to. I …'

Feeling more confident, she made the mistake of looking down, and instantly regretted it as her eyes fell upon a bright turquoise spot in the crowd of blonde, brown and grey heads. No … he _couldn't_ have… Attempting to push it out her head, she looked down at her notes again to gather herself.

'I was born two years and two days after the War, and even in my lifetime we have become more unified. Although we are divided at eleven into houses, no longer should that be a cause for prejudice or strife. If anything, i have learnt in my time at Hogwarts that although we come from different homes, with different values and wishes, we share a common dream to strive for a better world, for happiness and peace. Now that we go out into the world and are no longer held together in the confines of school, I ask that we do not simply remember the values of our own individual house, but of all. Although we wear separate colours, what requirement is there to be confined to the values that colour represents? I hope that in forty years time, we look back upon what we have achieved and agree that we were all brave, and wise, and kind, and resourceful. Most of all, I hope that we are remembered as the first generation that went beyond the petty divisions of house, and strove for acceptance and unity instead of prejudice and discord. Thank you.'

She couldn't help smiling as loud applause broke out across the audience, and she distinctly heard James and Fred whistling and cheering. Caesar stood up, clapping as well, and held out an arm to indicate that she should leave the stage. She hurried down the steps and sat down in her empty seat between Jonny, who ignored her, and Harriet Yates, who gave her a friendly smile.

'I will now call out the names of each student, who may come up on stage and receive their certificates. Alcott, Jessica…' Victoire clapped as hard as she could as her friend swept past her, looking radiant in royal blue robes trimmed with bronze. The examiners had apparently worked through the night for the past week, so that everyone who had passed enough to graduate could. Although the grades wouldn't be released for another month due to moderation, they all knew whether they could graduate and not have to repeat the year. It was slightly awkward as two boys were quietly taken to one side and told that they would have to retake some papers.

Through the ceremony, Victoire managed to resist the temptation to look over her shoulder and see whether it was Teddy sat in the audience. She was supposed to be looking dignified and respectful, not bored and inattentive. Anyway, it could be someone's arty relative with dyed hair. But it seemed to drag on for hours, each person taking an age to go on stage, shake hands with Caesar, and get their scroll.

She was among the last, and couldn't help blushing a little at the loud applause as she swept up on stage, praying with every ounce of her being that she wouldn't trip on her way up the steps. 'Congratulations, Miss Weasley,' said Caesar, shaking her hand in both of his clammy ones. He let go after slightly too long, and Professor Longbottom handed her a tightly rolled scroll, tied with a black ribbon and sealed with wax stamped with the school crest.

'Thank you, Professor,' she said, smiling at them and leaving the stage.

After the final student - Zackerly, Philip - had taken his certificate, Caesar held up his arms for silence. 'Congratulations to the graduating class of 2017! I am sure you will all go on to make the school proud. It is the final time I may say this to you all - you are dismissed!'

A cheer rose up amongst the students, and in unison they rose and pulled off their hats, throwing them into the air and catching them again. After an awkward pause, the students dispersed to their separate families.

'Victoire! Ma cherie! C'etait magnifique!' Her mother was hurrying towards her, arms outstretched. Victoire thought she was the most stylish of the mothers, in black and white robes with her hair twisted up elegantly, but then they reached each other and embraced tightly. Her father and siblings came up behind them, and Victoire stepped away from her mother to hug her father.

'That was a great speech, Victoire. I was so proud,' he said.

'Victoire …' said Dom, in that voice that she used whenever she had bad news, but Victoire had already seen. Looking over her father's shoulder, she saw Teddy a short distance away, patiently taking photos with some younger sisters of students. As she watched, he stepped away from the girls and looked over at her.

Their eyes met, and as her family went off to speak to the rest of her extended family, she allowed herself to drop behind. 'Victoire.' His voice hadn't changed. He intonated the word the same as the last time they'd seen each other, and for a moment Victoire was back to seven months ago, to their argument in the garden behind her house. She glanced over her shoulder, allowing him to match his pace to hers. 'Hey.'

'Hello, Teddy.'

He shoved his hands in his pockets, awkward, scuffing the ground with his boots. 'So … congratulations, I guess.'

'Thanks.'

'Victoire!' They stopped, facing each other almost toe-to-toe on the slope of the Hogwarts lawns. 'We need to talk.'

'Why?'

'Because I fucking miss you, that's why! Victoire … I know it was you in The Dancing Gypsy, in March. And I haven't been able to stop thinking about you.'

The corner of her mouth turned up a little. 'Really? I thought you were the new heartthrob of Witch Weekly.'

His Metamorphmagus powers couldn't hide his blushing. 'That means nothing, Victoire. Please … can we at least be friends again? I understand if you don't want a relationship, we're going in different directions at the moment, but I really fucking miss you.'

'But that song I heard you play, you seemed to have moved on with life. You didn't seem to care if we were still friends or not,' said Victoire.

'That song … it came out wrong. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry if I hurt you. Do you think we can be friends again?'

She sighed, looking across the lawns to the castle in the distance. 'Sure. I'm going out with my friends this evening, we're going to go get some drinks in Hogsmeade this evening. You should stick around and join us. The Three Broomsticks at seven thirty?'

'Sure, thanks Victoire.'

She hurried off to rejoin her family for the unavoidable round of hugs and congratulatory remarks, but she kept finding herself getting distracted, the head of turquoise hair catching the corner of her eye. Smiling and nodding at the questions of her cousins and grandparents, she subconsciously couldn't help following Teddy's movements.

The village was full of Seventh Years that evening, celebrating their release from school through alcohol and revelry, and in the warm summer twilight Victoire walked with her friends down the main street and into The Three Broomsticks, where finally they'd now be allowed to order alcohol.

When Marco, one of the boys, returned from the bar with the first round and Teddy, Jessica's eyebrows nearly reached her hairline as she looked over at Victoire. With a casual half-smile, Teddy - his hair now golden-brown so as not to attract attention - slipped between the tables and sat down opposite Victoire. She both wished he hadn't and was desperately happy that he had, as his warm brown eyes met hers and they shared a smile across the table.

Through the night, Victoire pretended to take part in the conversation, laughing and even interjecting a remark once or twice, but really she couldn't stop thinking about and noticing Teddy. His arms, bare now that he'd removed his jacket and muscled in the defining candlelight. His feet, each time they shifted under the table and brushed against hers, sending a jolt through her legs. The way that he held his glass, the long fingers delicately cupping it, the forefinger lightly tracing the rim.

Her friends left one by one, drifting off to beds and families, until finally it was just Jessica and Marco, who had seemingly passed out on the tabletop. 'I'll get him home,' said Jessica, putting her arm around his shoulders and getting him to his feet. Her eyes met Victoire's, and one eyebrow arched for a moment. 'See you around.'

Victoire glanced at Teddy, her buzz from the alcohol unable to stop her from feeling awkward as they simultaneously realised that they were alone together. Teddy smiled. 'I haven't seen you drunk for a while, Victoire. Not since the infamous case of your Uncle George's fortieth.'

'I wasn't drunk!' scoffed Victoire. 'Or at least not as much as you! Didn't you wake up in my Aunt Angelina's hedge? I can drink way more than you! It's the Veela blood.'

'Oh, you think so?'

'Yes I do!'

'Well then,' he said, standing up and holding out a hand to her. 'I think that this requires a drinking challenge.'

'Very well then, let's settle this!' She ignored the hand and led the way to the bar, sitting down on one of the stools and getting the attention of one of the barmen. 'Two shots of Salamander Vodka, please. And keep them coming.' They each dropped a Galleon onto the bartop and took the shot glasses, downing them.

Six shots later and Victoire couldn't deny she was feeling the alcohol. The bar seemed to be shifting in front of her and she reached out and grabbed the closest thing for support, before realising it was Teddy and jumping away, clinging to the bar instead. He laughed, throatily, and she saw him blink slowly as he stared down at the empty shot glasses in front of them. 'Another!'

The vodka no longer burned the back of her throat, and somewhere in her head Victoire knew this was a bad sign, but she ignored it as they downed another pair of shots, laughing over nothing.

'So, Miss Weasley,' said Teddy, mock-serious, slapping the bar with his hand. 'What exactly are your prospects?'

'Ugh!' Victoire groaned, clapping her hands over her eyes. 'Don't go there Teddy!'

'Ah, come on now, surely you're doing fine? I heard through your gran that you've got all the internships and training schemes you could wish for?'

'Yeah,' said Victoire, her mouth slurring slightly. 'But I dunno if … if I want that, you know? Like, I'm eighteen. I've got ages to live. And I'm having to decide my career _now_? I, like, finally get what you've been playing at for the last year, you know? I just don't know what I want.'

He caught her hand, holding it surprisingly tightly in his. 'You'll figure it out, Victoire.'

She smiled at him. 'Thanks, Teddy. Maybe I'll just run away, you know? Go travelling. Join a circus. Get a tattoo.'

'I'm up for that!'

They giggled. She suddenly squinted at his face, which had become blurry, and caught his chin to try and make it stop. 'You're … blurry.'

'Maybe you've had enough,' he said, smiling at her.

'No!' She caught him by the lapels of his jacket, pulling him closer to her. 'Don't do that!'

'Do what?'

They were very close now, she realised even in her intoxicated state. Her head struggled to find the words. 'R - Restrict me.' And then she leant forward, and kissed him.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Malfoy House was a more modest version of its predecessor, Malfoy Manor. After the war ended, Draco Malfoy quickly sold his ancestral family home, finding it impossible to stay in the house anymore, with horrific memories in every corner and shadow. But the new house was still more grand than even many of Scorpius' housemates' family homes: a smart Elizabethan manor of golden stone with large mullioned windows that shone in the sunlight, and a small tower at the western corner.

Scorpius felt a sense of dread in his stomach and chest as he walked up the front drive towards his home, wondering what he'd find inside. He'd heard little from his parents about their situation, except that they'd separated, his mother going to live in Paris with her new partner, and that the legal proceedings for divorce were in process. He knew from his own intuition that it was a little complicated. Technically, his mother should just leave with what she came with, as was the usual procedure for divorce in old lineage families so that the estates wouldn't be broken up. But much of his mother's independent financial assets - Scorpius' maternal grandparents were hugely wealthy - had been invested in his father's business ventures after the war, so really she had a stake in those too.

His father's assistant, Dandrick, had picked him up from Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. They had a house elf - paid, since the legislation Hermione Granger had passed a few years ago. But it was Dandrick who managed the family estates and businesses with Scorpius' father, and in doing so ran the house as well. He was a tall, taciturn man who although he was hardly into his mid-thirties had the air of someone two decades older. He'd always unnerved Scorpius.

They reached the front door of the house, a heavy oak one with a large falcon-shaped knocker, and Dandrick ushered him inside, closing the door behind him. The House Elf, Tuppy, appeared and squeakily greeted Scorpius, who smiled awkwardly down at the elf. He'd never been sure how to act with them. Tuppy disappeared off, presumably to put his trunk in his room, and Dandrick left as well. Scorpius stood alone in the dim hallway. It was an imposing entrance to the house, all dark wood with large portraits of Malfoy ancestors on the walls.

For half a minute, there seemed to be silence in the house, and Scorpius wondered whether his father was away. He felt more than a little hurt that his father would not only leave him to be picked up by the butler after his first year at Hogwarts, but then not even be home to greet him. As he mused over the possibility of this, he heard a sound above his head.

As he craned his head to look upwards, the footsteps continued, coming closer. They were unmistakably a woman's, but he knew these were not his mother's. His mother, whether wearing heels or boots or flats, had always gone from heel-to-toe when stepping. This woman's footsteps were an aggressive clacking stamp of heeled stilletos, and they were approaching the staircase in front of him.

The woman who appeared at the top of the stairs in front of him was, from a distance, perfect. Tall, statuesque, with wavy caramel hair and designer robes that showed off her thin figure. But as he looked, he saw that she looked like an awful caricature of his mother. She was unnaturally thin, painfully so, and her face was sharp and looked cold even when she was smiling. Her voice was a high falsetto. 'You must be Scorpius! What a darling you are, I'm so excited to meet you.'

Scorpius resisted the urge to run as she descended the staircase towards him. Upon closer inspection, he saw she was heavily made up and there were barely discernable discoloured roots beneath her caramel waves. Staying rigidly still, he allowed her to reach out and cup his cheek, her long vermillion fingernails grazing his skin, her strong perfume filling his nostrils with sickly sweet scent.

'I'm Courtney, your father's new girlfriend. Now, I'm sure you miss your mummy, even though she's been very bad, but don't worry I'm sure we're going to be the best of friends soon. Your daddy and I are very, very fond of each other. And you look like such a sweet-natured boy, I'm sure we won't have any problems.'

'I'm sure you will.' Scorpius looked past Courtney's expansive breasts to see that his father had appeared behind her. He looked a little older than the last time he'd seen him, his hair a little thinner and perhaps the skin around his eyes a little darker. But overall, little change. His split from Scorpius' mother certainly hadn't damaged his outward appearance, at least.

He and his father embraced, briefly, and then Scorpius was allowed to go to his room, where sure enough Tuppy had left his trunk. It was all perfectly neat and clean, with hardly a crease in the bedclothes or a speck of dust on the surfaces. Scorpius stood in the middle of the room for a moment, and then rushed to the ensuite bathroom and vomited violently into the toilet.

* * *

The south of France was basking in dusty heat, day after day of cloudless blue sky over the slowly baking earth, broken up by emerald vineyards and pale stone houses. Toby's family holiday home was perched on a hillside with such vineyards running down to a forest below, the thin trail of a river cutting through the valley floor. The earth had been turned to hardened clay and dust by the sun, but the house was built on a large terrace, and a number of charms ensured that the small patches of lawn remained lushly irrigated.

The house itself had been built a century or two ago, of rustic golden stone with dark terracotta roofs and blue shutters on the windows that looked out on the sweeping view. Inside the rooms were blissfully cool, the thick stone walls bare or roughly plastered, the wooden planks of the floor warped with age. It had been owned by a large farming family until the Montgomerys bought it, and so was expansive, the interconnecting rooms seeming to go on forever on the ground floor and the bedrooms each a little suite of its own.

They arrived a couple of days after the end of term, Dom getting her Portkey alone from the Ministry so that her parents wouldn't catch on and realise exactly who she was staying with. But this meant she was a little surprised when she walked up to the large stone villa and was greeted not by Toby but by a gigantic, hairy man in his twenties wearing nothing but swimming trunks and holding a drink.

'Hello!' The man hailed her, waving with a hand the size of a boxing glove. 'You must be Dominique! Pleased to meet you!'

'Call me Dom,' she replied, smiling awkwardly and hoping that he would actually introduce himself soon. To her relief, when she looked past him she saw Toby loping towards her, also in swimming shorts and dripping with water, his hair slicked against his head.

'Dom! Sorry, I was in the pool and didn't hear you arrive. This is Hector, my older brother. Paul is also on the terrace, through here. I'll take your bag,' he said, taking it from her and giving her a brief kiss. 'We're just having a drink before supper, do you want one?'

It turned out Hector and Paul were also hanging about in the house through the summer. The two guys were in their early twenties, and seemed nice, easy-going characters. Paul was working for a startup broomstick company, Hector was supposed to be joining Mr Montgomery's business in the near future, having spent his years since Hogwarts travelling and doing freelance work.

Although it wasn't as bad as discovering that Toby's parents would also be staying through the summer, it did slightly ruin Dom's idea of a peaceful, intimate getaway. Hector's laughter could be heard anywhere in the house, and the two men had a habit of loud, rowdy games that would usually end with someone going in the pool.

This slight annoyance was however counteracted by Paul's cooking and Hector's cocktail skills, and having a couple of extra people around did make it less intense with Toby.

Toby took her hand and led her through an archway in the vined trellis, onto a large stone terrace with the pool at the furthest edge, and some deckchairs and a barbeque pit closer to them. Paul looked like an older version of Toby - tall, dark and bearded, with the same Roman nose and dimpled smile.

'You must be Dominique, pleasure to meet you,' he said, taking her hand in a tight grip. 'I'm Paul, but I'm sure Toby here has already told you that. Why don't you go leave your stuff in your room, and in the meantime Hector will knock up something for you to drink? Are you vegetarian by the way, we like to cook French while we're here, so tonight it's confit-de-canard.'

'No, no, that's fine I love that!'

'Oh, of course, you're French aren't you I should have got that in the name. Whereabouts is your family from?' asked Paul.

'My grandparents live in Paris,' said Dominique. Toby squeezed her hand.

'Come on, Paul, let Dom go drop her stuff.'

They hurried away into the house, which was so dark after the bright sunlight of outside that Dom was temporarily blinded and stood blinking until her eyes acclimatised. They were in the kitchen, which had cabinets built around a central wooden dining table that could seat a dozen. Toby placed a hand on the small of her back, and kissed her.

'Welcome to the villa,' he murmured.

Her room was on the southern corner of the house. According to Toby, if the two of them shared a room they would spend the summer the butt of Hector and Paul's merciless ribbing. But his room was just across the landing, and he knew even in the pitch black which floorboards creaked when you stepped on them.

The bedroom was gorgeous. A queen-sized four-poster bed with white cotton sheets took up much of the space, the thin curtains ruffling slightly in the breeze. From the bed she could look out the window across the valley. She had her own little bathroom, and there was a small wardrobe beside a little vanity table with a mirror and an empty vase to be filled with flowers. The style was closer to Victoire's taste than hers, but she couldn't deny it was a lovely room.

Toby came in behind her, pushing the door to, and as she reached up to clasp her hands behind his neck they kissed, softly at first and then with more urgency. In the final few days of school there hadn't been much time for them to hang out, they'd both been so busy with packing and end of school events, and then they'd had to spend another few days apart while Dom was at home with her family.

They stumbled towards the bed, sliding hands over each other's bodies until the backs of Dom's knees hit the bed and they tumbled onto the mattress together. They lay for a while kissing and touching each other, until the loud bray of Hector's laughter came through the window from the terrace below, and they broke apart. Dom stared at Toby, who smiled awkwardly back.

'Maybe now isn't the best time,' she murmured.

'Yeah. They'll be expecting us downstairs.'

With a definite air of reluctance, the two of them slowly got to their feet and straightened their hair and clothes before making their way back down to the terrace.

* * *

Louis Weasley was not having such an enjoyable time as his sister. Instead of basking in the southern French sun, he was in Shell Cottage dealing with the fact that his eldest sister had run off with her ex-and-now-apparently-back-again-boyfriend, Teddy. He liked Victoire, and Teddy, but he couldn't help but be annoyed by the fact that they'd run off to Europe and left him to deal with the fallout.

Apparently, Teddy and Victoire had gone drinking together after her graduation, and then something had happened - he put his money on sex - and now the next thing they all knew, a letter came from Victoire saying that she didn't want to go into Healer training just yet and that she needed to 'find herself'. Which apparently meant going on tour with Teddy around Europe.

Their mother had of course freaked out and spent several days raging about the house, yelling about her ungrateful children and how they'd all be the death of her. Louis refrained from pointing out that in the last year he had given them relatively little trouble, beyond a few letters home about antics such as blowing up a toilet and charming professors' chalk to write swearwords instead of instructions.

After a few attempts to try and diffuse the situation, which resulted in him getting yelled at instead of the inanimate objects that were serving for his wayward sister, he decided to leave the situation altogether and go hang out with Fred and James instead.

'Victoire's really gone crazy, hasn't she,' said Fred as they sat in the garden at the Burrow. Their Grandma Molly was making them all chicken pie for lunch, and he and Louis were watching James fly about, throwing Quaffles into the air and then race on his broom to catch them before they fell.

'I'd say she's reached about eight on the scale,' said Louis, sniggering as James overshot it a little and had to scramble to stay on his broom. 'She and Dom have developed a habit of running away with boys.'

'Still, must be pretty cool, touring with a band,' said Fred, grabbing the Quaffle out the air when James threw it over their heads and earning a waved middle finger from him. He lobbed it back at him and lay down in the grass. Louis sat, pulling at stalks and making a miniature stack of them.

'Cool for her. Meanwhile, I'm stuck here,' huffed Louis. He accidentally prodded the pile of grass with his wand and it caught fire, smoking and charring. 'Shit.'

'That doesn't have to be the norm,' said James, landing gracefully in front of them and hopping off his broom, running a hand through his hair and shaking it out of place. Louis and Fred looked up at him, shadowed by the sun behind, waiting for him to tell his idea. 'The semi-final of the Quidditch Cup is being played on Bumpton Moor this afternoon, between the Wimbourne Wasps and the Appleby Arrows. We should go.'

Fred and Louis stared at him. Louis spoke first: 'Didn't your dad promise you tickets to the final?'

'Only if the Wasps play!' said James. They were his absolute favourite team - anyone who dared to criticise them or laud another team in his hearing was in for a twenty-minute rundown of the Wasps' merits. 'Of course they will make it to the final, but that's not for another two weeks! I feel like going and watching some good Quidditch.'

'How on earth are we supposed to get in, James? We have no tickets, we can't Apparate, we can't even use our wands!' said Fred.

'Ye of little faith.' James dropped to sit down with them, tracing his plan on the ground in front of them. 'We can get to the venue, easy.'

'How, exactly?'

James smiled, stretching his arms into the air. 'We're going to fly.'

It was difficult to sit through lunch, as delicious as the chicken pie was. Albus, Rose, Hugo and Lily chattered happily all the way through, but the other three were uncharacteristically quiet, and their grandma noticed. Louis felt her eyes bore into him as he forced himself to clear his plate, chewing and swallowing every mouthful. She picked them to wash up the dishes, and they knew that if they didn't do it properly she'd know and make them do it all again.

Their grandpa Arthur fell asleep as usual in a deckchair on the lawn, and so it was very easy for them to steal his wand and do Disillusionment Charms on each other. They'd taught themselves how to do them last year, finding they were very useful for rule-breaking.

Albus and Rose caught them as they snuck their brooms out of the shed, raising their eyebrows at them. 'Going somewhere?'

'Come on guys, don't snitch on us,' said James, swinging his leg over his broom. 'If Grandma asks, we've gone for a walk for a few hours, okay? We'll be back by dinner.'

He kicked off from the ground, shooting up into the air, and Fred and Louis quickly followed him. Louis wasn't keen on flying, and wobbled and bumped behind the much smoother Fred and James, his knuckles white as he clung to the broom. It was a warm, sunny day on the ground, but at a few hundred feet up in the air the air felt much chillier and he soon found himself shivering, wishing he'd brought a coat.

It didn't help that James found straight flying too easy, so while Louis clung on and Fred navigated where they were actually going, James messed about. He dipped down a hundred feet, spun about, zoomed up and looped between Fred and Louis, whistling past their ears and unbalancing them. Then he'd shoot upwards and ahead, perform some tricks so they could see, and then dive until he was right above one of them before pulling up straight. And then he'd repeat it all again.

So when they came over the horizon and saw the stadium in the distance, Louis felt relief wash over him. James let out a hoot of joy and Fred waved the compass in the air, as they turned their brooms towards it.

'So have we actually worked out how we're getting in?' asked Louis, calling up to Fred.

'I've been thinking that one through,' called Fred, tucking his compass into his pocket. 'And it should be quite easy. All we need is a diversion.'

'That's no problem,' said James, grinning.

They landed on a quiet edge of the stadium, and tucked their brooms away out of sight under the stands. Hoping that the number of wizards in the area would hide the fact they'd used magic, they removed each other's Disillusionment Charms and walked around the edge of the stands.

There was a thick throng of people waiting to get into the stands, wearing either pale blue or black and yellow. There was visible tension in the air, as the two sides glared at each other and said the occasional muffled insult. Fred had got a determined look on his face, as he pointed to three boys in pale blue t-shirts. They were a few years older than them, maybe sixteen.

'We're targeting them,' he said. 'Look, that one is holding the tickets, there in his back pocket. Go start messing with them. Should be easy for you, James, as they're Arrows supporters.'

James nodded, and Louis hurried after him as he strode towards the three boys, stopping just behind them. 'You've got to be braindead to support the Arrows!' he said, loudly. The boys definitely heard - they were virtually on their heels. Louis saw them tense a little, and look at each other, but they didn't turn around. James continued. 'What're Arrows supporters like in the stands? Nobody knows, they all get lost on their way to the pitch!'

Wasps supporters around them were starting to snigger. Louis saw the three boys start to bristle, glancing over their shoulders to glare at them. James was grinning. 'The Arrows wear sky blue to camouflage, but they're so ineffectual it doesn't make a difference! Do you know why so many Arrows supporters end up in hospital? They keep holding their wands the wrong way round!'

The three Arrows supporters had had enough. Spinning around, the biggest of them grabbed James by the sweatshirt, almost yanking him off his feet. 'You better stop, pal, or I'm going to put you in hospital!'

James managed a grin, but Louis realised that it wasn't the biggest boy who had the tickets. It was a smaller, freckled one who grabbed his friend's arm. 'It's alright, they're just annoying kids.' Fred was hovering behind, waiting for a moment to snatch the tickets, and so Louis barrelled towards the freckled boy, catching him in the ribs and making him stumble backwards. The two of them wrestled for a moment until Louis saw Fred dart in behind them and slip the tickets out the boy's jeans without him noticing. He winked at Louis, who abruptly let go of the freckled boy and dragged James, who looked close to starting his own brawl with a boy twice his size, away towards the ticket booth.

The bearded man checking tickets smiled jovially at them and waved them through, hardly looking at the tickets. As they walked through to find seats, they heard a commotion behind them as the other boys realised that their tickets were gone.

'Do you think it was right to steal their tickets?' asked Louis as they climbed a set of stairs and edged along a row to sit amongst the other Wasps supporters. 'I mean, they paid for them.'

'Relax, Louis, they were idiots,' said James, stretching out his legs and grinning. 'Anyone who supports the Arrows deserves to lose their tickets.'

Fred was slightly more understanding. 'It'll be fine, I'm sure there'll be a list of names somewhere and they'll be let in.'

This didn't quite settle Louis' moral qualms with what they'd done, but he didn't know what else to say and anyway, a minute later he forgot all about it as the players of both teams walked onto the pitch and the match begun.

It was a good match. The fierce rivalry between the two teams meant that the players seemed to be fighting it out with every ounce of skill and energy they had, and the supporters in the stands were egging them on tirelessly. James could barely speak by the end, his voice hoarse and croaky from yelling. For most of the match, the two teams bounced the lead back and forth between them as quickly as the Quaffle changed possession, with neither team being able to get more than two goals in a row. But finally, the Wimbourne Wasps Seeker managed to snatch the snitch out from between the Arrows Seeker's fumbling fingers, holding it aloft to a tremendous roar in the stands. Louis thought that James was about to cry, he looked so happy.

The three of them made their way down out of the stands with the other supporters, James analysing every minute of the match in a very excited, and very hoarse, voice.

'And I can go to the final now!' he said, dancing and waving his arms in the air.

'Oh, can you now?'

The three of them froze, identical expressions of dread and horror on their faces. James' father was stood by the exit to the stands, and he did not look amused. He walked them away for about a hundred metres, so that the exiting crowds couldn't hear, before stopping them. Louis felt himself squirm as Harry looked them over, and then focussed on James.

'I was at work when I got a very strange message. Some boys had reported that their tickets had been stolen from them outside a Quidditch match, and they thought that one of the culprits looked very like Harry Potter's son. So to stop this turning into a national embarrassment for me, I had to come down here myself and sort it out. And I must say that I am shocked and disappointed at your behaviour. All three of you should be ashamed of yourselves. I knew that you had a disregard for rules but I did not think that this stretched to law-breaking! This isn't some rule at Hogwarts that you view as beneath yourselves, the consequences of this aren't just detention or house points lost. Stealing is a _crime_!'

'But Dad…' said James, and Louis winced as Harry turned on him.

'But what, James? If you have some sort of explanation for your behaviour, please say it!' James scuffed a bit of grass beneath his trainers. 'I'm waiting, James. Why did you do this?'

'We … we were bored,' he said, and Louis' heart sank. There was no way they were escaping retribution now. Harry's eyes narrowed behind his glasses.

'Do you mean to tell me,' he said in a low, dangerous voice. 'That you three are so immature that you are unable to entertain yourselves without committing a crime?'

None of them had anything to say to this, so Harry said that he was going to take them home. Apparently Louis and Fred's parents could sort their punishments after they'd heard what they'd done, which Louis knew meant a grounding and extra chores. At least he could now say he vaguely equalled his sisters in causing trouble. But James got his punishment then and there.

'James, as I'm sure you've worked out already, there is no way that you are going to the Quidditch final in a fortnight. You can stay at home with your grandparents, and your mother and I will take Lily and Albus instead. And as you seem to have such a flagrant disregard for ownership, I am confiscating your broom until Christmas.'

'Dad, no!' James was horrified. 'What about next term? There's the match against Slytherin before Christmas!'

'You can use the Cleansweep Thirteen that's in the shed at home. No, James, I am adamant. The Cleansweep is perfectly adequate for your needs. In fact, I think it's good to use a slightly lesser broom sometimes, it helps one hone one's skills. Come along. I'm guessing that you three used brooms to get here, so let's go get those from where you've stashed them.'

Louis thought that James was close to tears. He trailed behind them as they walked around the stadium, and out the corner of his eye Louis thought he saw him draw his sleeve across his eyes a couple of times. They collected their brooms and Harry held out his arms for them to do Side-Along Apparition, hardly even looking down at James, who seemed for a moment to be mutinous about holding onto his father. His face had crumpled, all the happiness of a few minutes ago gone.

As soon as they landed back by the front gate of the Burrow, James strode off away from them, disappearing over the garden wall and away. They didn't follow him, and he didn't reappear until supper, when he slouched back in through the back door and sat down beside Lily, refusing to speak and pushing his food about his plate. Fred tried to catch his eye, but Louis just concentrated on his chicken salad.

* * *

Dominique stretched out blissfully, feeling the sun heat every inch of her skin. It was the middle of her second week in France, and she was sat on a sunbed with an iced pumpkin juice and a copy of _Quidditch Monthly_ , scanning the analysis of the most recent match, Appleby Arrows versus Wimbourne Wasps. As she squinted at a moving photograph of one of the Arrows Beaters hitting a Bludger at the Wasps Keeper, she heard something move behind her, and turned just in time to see a figure dive onto her.

Ignoring her as she hit his shoulders, Toby lifted her off the deckchair and strode towards the pool, holding her over it and letting go. She fell into the water with a smack, but then purposefully stayed beneath the water, allowing the air to leave her lungs and watching the blurred figure of her boyfriend. Waiting for about half a minute, until he was leant fully over the pool and she could hear his muffled voice calling her name, she then pushed down on the tiled floor and shot out the water like a crocodile. Snapping her arms around him, she dragged him into the water after her.

They wrestled each other in the pool for a while, until Dom was clinging like a limpet to Toby's back while he thrashed in the water, both of them laughing hysterically. At the same instant, they both heard someone pointedly clear their throat behind them.

Toby turned, with Dom still on his back, expecting it to be Paul or Hector. Dom was so shocked to see her mother stood at the edge of the pool that she let go of Toby and fell into the water with a splash. She burst out of it a second later, and waded towards the edge of the pool and her mother, who was staring down at her stonily.

A woman that Dom didn't know was also stood at the edge of the pool, but then Toby said: 'Hello, Mother. Didn't expect to see you here, I thought you were doing business in London?'

'I was,' said his mother in a slight French accent. 'But I met Fleur, a friend from my schooldays, and invited her here for dinner. I did not realise that the _friend_ you said was staying was her daughter.'

Dom looked at Toby. Their mothers were friends? He looked as nonplussed as she was, and shrugged. Her mother did not look amused.

'Dominique,' she said. 'When I said you could go stay with a _friend_ , I did not realise that you meant _this_ sort of friend. I do not think that it is appropriate for you two to be staying here with no apparent supervision. I am sorry, Cecile, but I think that after supper I will be taking my daughter home with me.'

'Mum!'

Paul had emerged from the house, wearing cargo shorts and a raspberry-coloured shirt. The Montgomery boys, although from an old Wizarding family, like most wizards of their generation forgoed robes when in informal situations. The two women turned around, and Cecile embraced her eldest son.

'Paul, this is my friend, Fleur. She also happens to be Dominique's mother.'

'What a coincidence!' said Paul jovially, shaking Dom's mother's hand. Fleur was frowning at him.

'Are … are you staying here, too?' she asked. Paul nodded.

'Yeah, Hector and I are spending July here,' he said, indicating to Hector who'd followed him out with a tray of drinks and nachos. 'We have to go off and do some business fairly often, but there's always one of us here.'

Fleur looked between the two young men, who were now pouring out iced lemonade and starting the barbeque oven, and Dom and Toby. Dom quickly stepped away from Toby and climbed out of the pool, wrapping her towel around herself and pulling her shirt around her shoulders.

'Well … I did not realise you were being supervised,' she said, slowly. 'I suppose … if that is so, you may stay the next two weeks.'

Restraining herself from giving her mother a hug, Dom settled for beaming at her, and after a moment her mother returned her smile. The dinner was actually quite enjoyable, as Fleur and Toby's mother drank a little too much wine and started swapping old gossip from their days in Beauxbatons. Dom particularly enjoyed the story of her mother getting trapped outside the school wearing only a negligee, having run outside on a dare, and having to climb up the ivy to her bedroom window so as not to be caught by the caretaker.

The sky was inky dark by the time they cleared the table and Hector started on the dishes. Outside the front door, Dom's mother put an arm around her shoulders and kissed her forehead. 'I will see you in August, Dominique.'

She watched her mother walk away a few metres up the drive, her footsteps muffled in the dust, until she was almost out of sight and turned briefly, disappearing with a small 'pop'. Wondering what the strange feeling in her chest was, Dom stepped back inside the house and into the kitchen, where the Montgomerys were clearing up together. They were talking and laughing together, the boys enjoying a light backhanded banter between each other and joking with their mother. Dom quietly avoided joining it, taking a cloth and wiping down the table. For some reason she didn't really feel like talking. Something about the difference between the Montgomerys and her own relationship with her mother made her feel oddly sad, although she couldn't work out why.

When they'd finished clearing up it was almost midnight, and Mrs Montgomery kissed and hugged each of her boys before going to bed. Paul and Hector went outside to take a look at the stars, as it was a clear night, and Toby put his arm around Dom's waist, pulling her close.

'D'you want to hang out?' he murmured, but she shook her head.

'I'm … tired.' And without another word, she stepped away and hurried away. Once in her bedroom, she stripped off and crawled under the covers, lying curled up under the tented sheets, staring into the darkness until she fell asleep.

* * *

Scorpius was not sure whether he was going to make it through the last few days until he left to stay with his mother in Paris. He was spending as much time as possible either in his room or out in the hundred-acre grounds of Malfoy House, exploring the woodland and sitting for hours in his favourite spots, especially the hilltop above the house that had a view across the surrounding countryside. He'd read, or sketch, or just sit and enjoy the tranquillity.

But there were still mealtimes. He could miss out on breakfast, snatching something from the kitchen, and sometimes he could do the same for lunch. But he could never miss supper, unless he faked an illness, and his father was shrewd enough to see through that one. So each night he had to sit through several hours of supper with his father, Dandrick, and his father's girlfriend.

He said girlfriend, because the original one he'd met, Courtney, had lasted about four days after Scorpius arrived home, before disappearing. Then there was Felicity, and currently it was Araminta. He decided that Araminta was the worst. She looked as though she would break with a particularly hard sneeze, and she had a constant expression of sycophantic admiration whenever Scorpius' father was in the room. Whenever it was just Scorpius in the room, she looked at him with unbridled dislike. He decided she had as much spine as a worm.

It seemed that his father was now an eligible bachelor, and he was enjoying this to its fullest. Scorpius wasn't sure whether he was actually going through girlfriends at an average of one every six days, or if he was dating them all at the same time. He didn't care to go into it. As far as he could tell, his parents had had affairs with other people for the last decade, and he was sick of hearing about it.

His father was spending most of his time working, either away from the house or with his study door firmly closed. At first Scorpius didn't mind, as it gave him free range to do what he liked - neither Dandrick nor any of the succession of women cared to try and control him. But it became a little dull after a few days. His father was a difficult man, it couldn't be denied, but at least he was someone interesting to have a conversation with. Scorpius found he just wasn't using his voice for days on end.

But finally his time in purgatory was up, and he packed his trunk again to leave for Paris. He was spending a month there, and then the final two weeks in Godric's Hollow and London with Albus. Tuppy, with surprising strength for his mean stature, carried his trunk down to the hallway, and Scorpius was surprised to see his father waiting there for him. For a horrifying moment, he wondered whether his father was going to try and stop him leaving.

'Goodbye, son,' he said, and Scorpius felt himself relax. 'Enjoy Paris, even if you are with … well, anyway. I have something for you.'

'Father?'

His father made a sharp motion at Tuppy with his hand, and the elf hurried off, reappearing holding something large covered with a velvet throw. 'I realise that you don't have an owl.' Scorpius reached out and pulled off the material. Inside was a handsome owl, with grey and white plumage and orange eyes.

'It's a Great Horned,' said Scorpius' father. 'The fastest breed. Can you think of a name?'

Scorpius had been reading a book of Greek legends the night before. 'Pheidippides,' he decided immediately, and when he looked up he saw an expression of rare pride on his father's face. 'Thank you, Father.'

'A boy needs an owl. Now, set it free so it can fly to France and join you there.'

'Yes, sir.'

His mother lived in a very tall house on the Ile de la Cite, hardly out of sight of the Seine. From the outside it could've fit into _Les Miserables_ ; built of old yellowish-grey stone with green shutters on the windows, it looked like it hadn't changed for centuries. Sensing a vague feeling of trepidation, Scorpius reached up and grasped the heavy ornate knocker, bringing it down twice on the oak door. He was slightly worried that he'd dent or scratch it, but the oak remained smooth.

It felt like several minutes that he waited on the doorstep, getting odd looks from passer-bys. He probably did look a little odd. A young boy, unaccompanied, holding an old-fashioned trunk and bird cage. He had at least changed into Muggle clothing once he'd got to the Ministry. He'd travelled by Floo from there to the French Ministry, which wasn't far from his mother's house, just across a bridge and along some cobbled streets.

As he looked over his shoulder to absent-mindedly follow a passing cyclist, the door in front of him opened. A well-built, dark-haired and slightly sallow man smiled down at him. 'Bonjour! You must be Scorpius. Come in, come in! Your mother is just upstairs, in the drawing room.'

He stepped into the long, narrow hallway of the house and heard his mother call his name from upstairs. His heart thudded against his ribs as if it wanted to break free. The man, whom he guessed was his mother's new boyfriend, led him up. 'I am Gerard,' he said, his voice light and cheerful. The interior of the house was much more modern than the exterior, with pale walls and dark wood flooring.

At the entrance to the drawing room, he glimpsed his mother, sat in an armchair beneath a tall window, illuminated by sunlight. She rose to meet him, and he almost ran to her. It was almost a year since they'd last met, and as she enveloped him in her arms he felt tears well up in his eyes, and struggled to blink them away when they parted again.

'Oh, Scorpius, I've missed you so much!'

His mother had, at first glance, hardly changed since they'd said goodbye on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters last September. She still wore expensive designer clothes and her hair was perfectly styled, without a hint of grey in the dark strands. But as he looked up at her he saw an unmistakeable happiness in her face, that had been missing before. She seemed hardly able to contain it within her serene manner.

He had predicted that his time in Paris would be better than his time in the house in Shropshire, and he was not wrong. Like with his father, he had free reign to go where he liked, but Paris was a lot more interesting than the grounds of Malfoy House. He spent hours each day exploring, finding his favourite cafes where he could sit and people-watch or sketch. The Shakespeare and Co. bookshop was hardly five minutes from his mother's house, and he found it a veritable treasure trove.

At first the shop had not seemed much different to many other bookshops he'd seen around the city, with Muggle bestsellers up on display and tall bookshelves filling the cramped spaces. He wandered about it, interested, and went up the narrow staircase to take a look at the non-fiction Muggle books, seeing whether any caught his eye. He was desperate to learn more about Muggles - the Muggle Studies class was compulsory, now, but he didn't start it for another year.

As he flicked through a thick tome on the Napoleonic Wars, he noticed an old man watching him from the corner. He was in his late sixties or seventies, Scorpius guessed, with rather unkempt grey hair and thick spectacles. When Scorpius looked up at him, he moved slowly over.

'Now, m'boy, are you going to Beauxbatons or Hogwarts in September?' he asked in a hoarse whisper. Scorpius stared. How did the man know? But the man just smiled at his look of surprise. 'You can always tell which ones are magical, after you've lived among both Muggles and magical folk for a while. Witches and wizards almost always have an expression of awkwardness when amongst a large number of Muggles. So, which is it?'

'Hogwarts,' said Scorpius in a low voice. Any Muggle who overheard them would be very confused by this.

'Come through here.'

The man led him over to a small section of the wall that was entirely bare, and Scorpius saw him glance over his shoulder, and then allow his wand to just poke out of his sleeve enough to slide down the panel. There was a small click, and it came ajar. He ushered Scorpius in through the secret door, and then bent low to follow him.

'I am Thellbury, I own some of this adorable ex-pat place,' wheezed the man, shutting the panel behind him. Scorpius wondered whether a lifetime among dusty tomes had permanently damaged his lungs. 'Now, here is our more exclusive section. Take a free reign, lad, and I'll be back in a while to see if you'd like to buy anything.'

There was a whole other area of the shop, hidden away by the secret panel, that was stuffed full of books on magic. Every inch of shelf space was full, and there were piles of them up against the walls and along the narrow windowsills. Scorpius hadn't found a _magical_ bookshop in Paris - he and his mother hadn't visited the Parisian version of Diagon Alley yet - and it was a treasure trove. There were books on every subject taught at Hogwarts, on languages, on wizarding culture and art, on the few wars or diplomatic crises that had broken out within the community over the years. There were great huge tomes with gilt lettered titles and decorated covers, and thin little books with greyish paper squeezed in together, their writing smudged and faded. By the time Thellbury returned, he had a whole stack of books to buy, and emptied his entire coin purse.

'Enjoy them, lad,' said Thellbury as Scorpius left, his books concealed in a now bulging bag. Scorpius meandered along the Seine for a while, before settling into a comfortable little cafe to read one of the less conspicuous books he'd purchased. He was thoroughly enjoying his time alone in Paris.

Unlike his father, his mother seemed overjoyed to see him, and she was constantly finding things for them to do together. They went shopping, buying him a full set of new clothes and stacks more books, or out to restaurants to try delicious new foods. She and Gerard were part of the fashionable, arty magical scene in Paris and so every few days they all went to a party, where Scorpius was plied with attention and wine until he was quite unsteady.

On his final evening in Paris before leaving to stay with Albus for the final two weeks of the summer, Scorpius padded downstairs in his pyjamas to his mother's room. Gerard was out at a drinks party, but his mother had decided that Scorpius needed an early night and that she did too. He crawled into bed beside her, leaning against her shoulder.

'Mother,' he said, softly, and she closed her book, turning to him and looking over her glasses. 'What's going to happen with custody of me? In the divorce?'

His mother didn't reply for a while. 'It's tricky, Scorpius. I'd love to have full custody of you, but your father wants that too. Most of all I think it would be best if you could decide who you lived with.'

'Can't I do that?' he asked, looking up at her. She shook her head.

'The Ministry thinks that you're too young. It's silly, I know.'

He stared at the coverlet on the bed. 'I don't want to stay with Father. I want to stay with you.'

His mother reached out and took his hand, squeezing it. 'We'll have to see.'


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

'Typical of you to call your owl _Pheidippides_ ,' said Albus as he and Scorpius walked along Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. 'It's impossible to shorten it. He doesn't exactly suit 'Dippy', does he?'

Scorpius looked down at his owl, which turned its head to look imperiously back at him. No, it certainly didn't suit. 'It's not that weird,' he replied, as they stopped to wait for the rest of the Potter family. 'Didn't your mum say that she named your uncle's owl Pigwidgeon?'

'Yeah,' said Albus, grinning. 'And I guess we can't talk, being called _Albus Severus_ and _Scorpius_. What were our parents thinking?'

'I got away lightly,' said Scorpius. 'Apparently it was between Scorpius and _Cyril_ when I was born.'

Mr and Mrs Potter had caught up with them, with Albus' younger sister Lily being held tightly by the hand by Albus' father. They thought she might make a run for it to get onto the train, and indeed she kept giving it furtive looks out the corner of her eye. It was still a year until she went, and for Lily that was far too long.

'Well, boys, enjoy your first term,' said Mr Potter, smiling at them both. 'And Scorpius, you're very welcome in the Christmas holidays if you'd like.'

'Thanks, Mr Potter,' said Scorpius. 'I think I'm going to be in Paris with Mother, though.'

James, who had been trailing far behind the family, had barely caught up with them before he spotted Louis and Fred up ahead on the platform, and sped off with hardly a muttered 'bye'. If it was one dark spot on the two weeks Albus and Scorpius had spent together in Godric's Hollow, it was James. It had been very uncomfortable interacting with him.

The final of the Inter-League Quidditch Cup had been very exciting, with a daring head-to-head between the two Seekers before the Wasps Seeker leapt almost entirely off his broom but caught the Snitch, but Albus had found it difficult to enjoy. The fact that James was sat back at the Burrow, feeling miserable and probably hating him for getting to go when he couldn't, slightly soured the experience. The fact that the Wimbourne Wasps, James' favourite team, had won the Cup had if anything made it worse.

James hadn't become any more cheerful through August, either. He hardly spoke, entirely ignored their parents, and when he was alone with Albus he was liable to become absolutely foul. To tell the truth, Albus was rather glad to no longer have to share a house with him. Hopefully a term at Hogwarts would make him forget how angry he was with everyone.

Albus hugged his parents and Lily, and then climbed aboard the Hogwarts Express with Scorpius. They walked along three carriages before they found Leo and Victoria, sat opposite each other in a compartment. The twins greeted them cheerfully as they sat down, and as the train set off they began exchanging stories of the summer over a game of Exploding Cheat, which was like normal Cheat but played with Exploding Snap cards.

Further up the train, Roxanne was sat with Gracie Alexander, Xana Frith, and Georgia Corrigan, the four of them gossiping about their summers and flipping through copies of _Teen Witch Weekly_. 'Have you seen your cousin is in _Teen Witch Weekly_ , Roxanne?' said Xana, showing her the article. 'As she's run off with Teddy Lupin, they're speculating who she is and why. It's quite complementary, says she's pretty enough to bag him.'

Roxanne took a look at the article, which was mainly on Teddy's gig in Berlin. There was a small paragraph mentioning Victoire, and in one of the photos of Teddy leaving the gig she saw Victoire hurrying along beside him, turning her head and smiling at something in the distance. Feeling rather jealous of the fact that Victoire got to galavant across Europe with Teddy Lupin and a band, she turned the page of the magazine, but the rest of it was quite uninteresting.

'So, what's happening with the boys?' asked Georgia to Gracie. As Gracie was dating Zach, one of the boys in the popular Gryffindor gang, she got a lot of the inside information. Things had been rather strained in general at the end of last year, after the fiasco between Roxanne and Danny Hale.

Gracie shrugged, putting a blonde lock of hair behind her ear. 'Well, according to Zach, things are sort-of okay. Danny and Jamie are acting as if nothing's wrong, but I know that things aren't quite right with them and Robert.'

'With Robert?' exclaimed Roxanne.

'Well they've never exactly been 'best buds', have they? Especially Danny and Robert, and I think that Robert didn't much like how Danny treated you, which makes it worse.'

'On that note,' said Xana, 'how are we going to act with Kendra Halliwell? Do we forgive her yet?'

'Depends how she acts,' said Gracie, icy. She'd been almost angrier towards Kendra than Roxanne had been. 'If she tries to be a smarmy little bitch, _I_ certainly won't take it!'

'If she's alright, let's leave her alone,' said Roxanne. 'She's already a pariah.'

As she said this, the compartment door slid open, and they all looked around to see Robert Wood stood there. He looked a little awkward, but relaxed slightly when they greeted him with friendly 'hello's'. His hair had grown over the summer, so it was long enough for a fringe, although he'd combed it neatly off his face with a very straight parting. And he had a shining new Prefect badge pinned to his jumper.

'I didn't know you were made a Prefect, Robert, well done,' said Georgia, smiling at him. 'How was your summer?'

'Not bad,' said Robert, absent-mindedly reaching up to touch the shiny 'P' badge. He was still quite short, but he'd filled out a little, Roxanne noticed.

'D'you want to sit down?' asked Gracie, indicating to the seat beside her, but Robert shook his head, and Roxanne saw his neck go a little pink.

'No, it's alright, I've got to get to the Prefects' compartment, apparently the new Head Boy and Girl are going to talk to us or something,' he said.

'Ooh, Robbie's a _Prefect_!' crowed a voice, out of sight from the compartment but easily recognisable as Jamie Fitzpatrick. A rolled-up _Daily Prophet_ struck Robert on the side of the head and he stumbled back against the opposite wall of the train as Jamie and Danny appeared, hooting with laughter. 'Wow, it's almost like he's important!'

'What's your problem?' asked Roxanne, fiercely, finding herself on her feet. Danny and Jamie turned to look at her, grinning without a trace of sheepishness. 'Leave him alone!'

'It's alright, Prefect, you've got _girls_ looking out for you now!' jeered Danny. Roxanne was reaching for her wand to hex him, but he and Jamie disappeared before she could, their laughter echoing down the carriage. Robert straightened up, pushing his mussed hair out his face, and left in the same direction without a word.

'What _dicks_ ,' said Roxanne, sliding the compartment door shut and sitting back down. 'What utter dickheads!'

'Yes, they are,' said Xana, although Roxanne had seen her eyeing the handsome Jamie Fitzpatrick appreciatively. 'But Robert is a little … odd, isn't he?'

'I don't know what you mean,' said Roxanne sharply, and she picked up the old copy of _Teen Witch Weekly,_ opening it at random and pointedly ending the conversation.

Molly was sat alone in a compartment, enjoying reading her new textbook for Sixth Year Transfiguration. She'd received eleven O's in her OWLs over the summer - her father had almost cried with pride - and two weeks ago Lucy had been strong enough to leave her wheelchair and take a half-hour walk with her. She'd had a feeling of general, unassailable happiness ever since, that she hadn't felt for as long as she could remember.

As she started the section detailing the theory of wordless magic in Transfiguration, the compartment door slid open, and she looked up to see a Hufflepuff girl in her year, Katrin Dormer, smiling shyly at her. 'Hey … can I sit here? Everywhere else is full.'

Slightly annoyed by the fact that her peace and quiet was disturbed, Molly nevertheless nodded and indicated to the bench opposite. It didn't occur to her that Katrin had a very large group of friends in Hufflepuff and it was very strange for her to suddenly find that the only place for her to sit was in the same compartment as her.

Katrin sat quietly and followed Molly's suit in reading a book, but the silence was broken when the food trolley came past, and they both ordered Licorice Wands. Giving Molly another small smile, took the orders of sweets. 'Like them too? I thought I was the only one.' Molly suddenly noticed that Katrin's eyes were a very warm dark brown, that seemed to have incredible depth when you looked into them.

'Anything else, dears?' said the trolley lady abruptly, and Molly started.

'Oh … yes, um, some Cauldron Cakes, please.'

The Cauldron Cakes were laid on the table, and Katrin divided the wands, giving Molly half. As she handed them to her their hands brushed, and Molly felt herself redden uncontrollably. Hurriedly trying to hide how flustered she was, she hid her face behind her Transfiguration textbook as she ate the cakes and sweets.

* * *

Fred leant back in his chair, pushing his heel into the table leg so he could rock back and forth. James was picking mud out his fingernails, remnants of their Care of Magical Creatures lesson before break. Louis had attempted to make notes at first, but had ended up doodling. He'd drawn a simplistic house, given it a garden and some trees, and then he got bored of that and started a noughts-and-crosses game with Fred.

The Magical Languages elective had seemed fun when they'd read about it. Interactive lessons, fun trips to go visit Merpeople and talk to goblins. But their teacher, Professor Glotten, had begun with Troll, which was possibly the dullest language ever. There were only four hundred words in the entire vocabulary, which would be fine except Glotten insisted on waxing lyrical on the detailed nuances of the language.

'And you see here, far from being identical as one might first think, _Urhm_ , meaning rock, is in fact entirely different from _Ehrm_ \- that is, Eh-ruhm - meaning ground, so you see that the subtle differences in pronunciation can in fact create an entirely different …'

'He makes it sound like they're going to be making poetry,' hissed James scathingly, but he did not escape Glotten's notice. The corpulent man turned on him, advancing on their desks and slapping a book down as if to get James' attention.

'Think this is funny, eh?' he snapped. 'Maybe it won't be such a laughing matter when you're cornered by a ten-foot mountain troll! But if you believe yourself above Troll, too _clever_ , please tell me what the sentence on the board means!'

Glotten had been going to translate the sentence later in the lesson. Louis squinted on it, recognised one word - Uhrm, rocks - and thought that another might be a primitive verb, but he had no idea what it was. Troll seemed to only use Us, Rs, and Ms, making rough grunting words that all looked identical.

James, however, seemed unconcerned by Glotten's attempted put-down. He cocked his head to one side, looking up at the blackboard. When he spoke, his voice was a low, moronic-sounding grunt. 'I don't care 'cause it's a stupid language!'

Laughter rang out across the classroom, and Louis saw several girls shoot admiring looks at James, who was grinning. Glotten, however, did not appreciate his joke.

'Did you have to call it stupid as well?' asked Fred as they left the classroom. Glotten had set them a hundred words of Troll to learn for the next lesson, in revenge for James' insolence.

'That was funny, James!' called a girl, Scarlett MacIntyre, as she passed with a group of other girls, and as they walked away the girls kept smiling back at James, who was smug.

'And that, young grasshopper, is why I called the language stupid,' said James, as they headed towards the Great Hall for lunch. 'Anyway, it is stupid.'

Fred rolled his eyes, but decided not to argue any more with him. The conversation between the three of them drifted off into other topics while they ate lunch, and as they did not want to start on homework yet, they decided to go visit Hagrid in the remains of their lunch break. The weather hadn't turned yet, and Hagrid was sat outside his hut, throwing sticks for the Crups that had been the subject of their Care of Magical Creatures class two hours earlier.

'Hullo again, you three!' he called as they approached, waving with a massive hand. Of all the Weasley cousins, James, Fred and Louis were the closest to Hagrid, except maybe Dom as she had such an interest in dragons. 'Want t'help me give 'em lunch?'

They agreed eagerly, and spent a happy half-hour throwing bones at the Crups and filling Hagrid in on the events of their Magical Languages lesson. Hagrid nodded pensively, scratching a Crup behind the ears and making it disappear beneath his dustbin lid-sized hand.

'It's a fairly new one, that is,' he said. 'On'y appeared 'bout ten years ago. But teaching you all Troll does seem a bit moronic. I mean, when're you ever goin' t'want to _chat_ with a troll?'

'Exactly!' said James, wrestling a stick out a Crup's mouth so he could throw it again. Hagrid chuckled.

'That don't mean you can go an' get cheeky at teachers, James. My, you remind me a right lot like your father sometimes, an' your gran'father! They could be right insolent sometimes.'

James grinned, running a hand through his hair so it stuck up even more. The Crup he was meant to be throwing a stick for jumped up onto him, pushing him onto the ground and wrestling the stick out his hand amid general laughter.

* * *

After Dom had arrived back in England at the start of August, little of note had happened, except for the day when her OWL results had come. They'd been quite good, she thought, especially as she had studied about half the recommended amount, and a tenth of the amount her cousin Molly had. She'd even received an O in Care of Magical Creatures, and her E grades in Charms, Potions, and Herbology, allowed her to carry them on to NEWT level. Her parents thought her timetable was a little light, she surmised, but she only really needed Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures to become a Magizoologist. Anyway, she had other things taking her attention. A Captain badge for the Gryffindor Quidditch Team had arrived with the OWL results.

On the first Saturday back at Hogwarts, she stared across the Quidditch pitch at the gaggle of students trying-out for the team. She was insisting on re-trying every position on the team. It was the advice her Uncles Charlie and Harry had given her, and it made sense. She wanted to remove any dead weight, like Basil Hartley had been, as quickly as possible.

Her parents had given her a fancy silver whistle when she'd got the badge, and as she blew it the crowd stopped chattering and turned to face her.

'Alright, get into groups according to what position you want to play!' she yelled. There was a minute or two of confusion, and she had to shout out some orders. 'Keepers, over there to the right, Chasers in the centre, no, not there, the _centre_!'

But despite having to shout, the tryouts didn't go too badly, she thought. James Potter and Jamie Fitzpatrick went straight back on the team with hardly a blink, easily outdoing the other competitors, and as the third she made the new addition of Kit Kirkright, a cheerful, gutsy Fourth Year boy. Robert Wood, apparently, had become suddenly ill that weekend and was bedridden.

And despite the fact she disliked Danny Hale, she couldn't deny the fact that they played well together, and knew that she had no real excuse not to put him back on the team. She found a new Keeper as well, a fit Fourth Year girl called Allie Keaton-Hartwell who she hoped would be the opposite of the sluggish Basil Hartley.

The only really difficult position to place was Seeker, and it didn't help that it was the most important. Kendra Halliwell strutted onto the pitch with an arrogant air, obviously thinking that she was going to walk straight back onto the team. Dom tried out the potential Seekers by charming a golf ball to fly about the pitch. Two people would go into the air at the time, and the first to spot and catch the fake Snitch was the winner, obviously.

Kendra did fine, beating the apparently imbecilic Sixth Year she was up against. But Dom spotted another kid, a skinny little Second Year called Joey Zeke. She didn't really know anything about him, but he caught the ball she'd charmed spectacularly, midway through a 360-degree flip.

'Okay,' she said when all the Seekers were done, frowning down at her clipboard so that she could pretend not to see Kendra's anger. 'Zeke and Halliwell, you two go up again together.'

As it turned out, she couldn't avoid Kendra. The younger girl marched up to her looking livid. 'What the _fuck_?' she hissed when she was near. ' _I_ am the Seeker, not that scrawny little kid! I get that you need to hold tryouts because you're a new captain or whatever, but this is stupid, it's going to be _me_.'

Dom stared stonily back at her, and jabbed a finger into the air. 'Get going, Halliwell.' Kendra made a snort of derision, but followed Joey Zeke up into the air. This time, Dom let out a real Snitch for them to catch, one of the old ones caught in a match last year.

It was a tough fight, the two players going tooth-and-nail against each other. Kendra looked as though she was fighting more vociferously than she did against other houses' Seekers. Dom and the rest of the students on the pitch watched them. The Snitch had initially disappeared, and Joey Zeke went up high to survey the pitch while Kendra flew back and forth below him. There was a sudden 'ooooh' in the crowd as Joey Zeke seemed to spot the Snitch below him, and dropped into an impossibly fast dive. Kendra was flying back towards him when it happened and shot forwards, speeding across the pitch as he fell downwards.

Dom placed her hands on her hips, craning her neck backwards to watch them. She'd spotted the Snitch, fluttering about ten feet off the ground. But looking at Kendra's angle, she wasn't headed for it. She hadn't seen the Snitch - she just knew Joey had, and wanted to follow him so that he would show her. Granted, that was fairly good tactics, but it didn't exactly show great skill.

They met each other in the air in a tangle, with Joey attempting to still follow the Snitch and Kendra fumbling to follow his angle. For a moment, it looked like they were neck-and-neck, and Joey was reaching out towards the Snitch below him, his feet on his broom to steadily bring it out the dive.

And then he was on the ground, skidding along in a way that made Dom wince, his limbs flailing until he finally stopped, leaving a trail of dark mud behind him. Kendra landed lightly on the ground, smirking. Dom ran over to them.

Joey was sitting up, looking a little dazed and with a bleeding nose, but otherwise unhurt. 'He fell off,' called Kendra, walking over and waving the Snitch in her hand. 'Guess he was just too ambitious.'

Dom ignored her. 'Are you alright?' she asked Joey, who nodded, dabbing his nose with his sleeve. She turned to the other students, who were watching her. She thought that she'd seen Kendra shove Joey, but she'd been blocking him from Dom's view and she hadn't been quite able to see properly. She stared at the other students, for a moment at a loss as to what to do. She couldn't start accusing Kendra of sabotage, but then Kendra had to get the spot on the team and she didn't want someone undeserved to get it.

To her relief, someone else spoke. It was Allie Keaton-Hartwell, who'd been stood over on the wedge of the pitch with the rest of the team, but they'd walked over when Joey had fallen out the sky. 'If you don't mind me saying something,' she said politely, 'I saw Kendra push Joey off his broom. It wasn't Joey's fault.'

The other team members were nodding. Dom turned on Kendra, who'd gone very red and looked livid. 'That's a lie!' she snapped, glaring past Dom at the rest of the team. 'I didn't!' It made sense to Dom, now. It hadn't seemed right that Joey Zeke would just fall out the air for no apparent reason.

While James helped Joey onto his feet, Dom turned back to her clipboard. 'Seeker, Joey Zeke, and the Reserve is Kendra Halliwell.'

She felt a little bad as Kendra looked as though she was going to cry, and almost ran off the pitch. But then she dismissed the other unsuccessful students and the new team started chattering loudly, arresting her attention.

As she walked off the pitch, her clipboard tucked under her arm and the team trailing behind her discussing the tryout and the upcoming practice on Tuesday, she spotted Toby leant against the archway leading out the pitch. 'Hey,' he called as she approached, raising a hand. He looked very well turned-out in a v-neck sweatshirt and chinos, she thought, and she was suddenly aware of how sweaty she was. Her hair, now falling somewhere about her chin and the nape of her neck, was a tangle that stuck to her forehead. But Toby didn't seem to notice as he kissed her and put his arm around her waist, the two of them leaving the pitch together.

* * *

The first month back at Hogwarts passed with little drama, to everyone's surprise, and in fact little of note happened until the very start of October. Rose entered the Great Hall late on the first Monday of the month, just as the post-owls arrived. As she sat down a large barn owl nearly dropped her _Daily Prophet_ into a large tureen of porridge in front of her. She caught it as it bounced on the rim, and pulled it open. The headline caught her attention immediately.

 _Minister for Magic Announces Imminent Retirement_

Pushing her bowl out the way to make space on the table, she flattened the newspaper out to read. A large photo of Kingsley Shacklebolt smiled up at her from the centre of the page.

'What's up?' Her friend, Isabel Mitford, had noticed something was wrong. Her other best friend, Joey Zeke, stopped his soliloquy on the most recent Gryffindor Quidditch team practice and also turned his head to look at her. She read out the headline, and their mouths dropped open.

'Shacklebolt, retiring?' said Joey, frowning. 'He's not old.'

'But he's been in office for twenty years,' said Isabel. 'It's a long time. Read out the article, Rose.'

Taking a deep breath, Rose read out the article:

' _Minister for Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt, sixty-two, today announced his imminent retirement from office after twenty years service. Taking up the position at the end of the war against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, Shacklebolt has enjoyed two decades of success, being the only Minister in history to have had approval ratings of consistently 'O'. Cornelius Fudge, for instance, only ever rose above an 'A' rating once: when he lifted the ban on the popular 'Rousing-Root plant', which when smoked causes excitement and energy._

' _However early this morning Shacklebolt announced to the Ministry and the_ Daily Prophet _that he would step down from the position and that there would be an election for the next Minister in December. "I have enjoyed my time in service", he is quoted "and hope that the British Wizarding population has viewed my term in office as a success. But I believe my time has come to an end. I will be spending more time with my family, and perhaps relaxing a little." Shacklebolt's first grandchild was born in August._

' _Yet the question here is not Shacklebolt's future activities - when pressed, he gave no more details except perhaps a holiday in Bali - but the future Minister for Magic. Who will take over from the immensely popular and successful Shacklebolt? The field is wide open. The_ Daily Prophet _has, of course, several candidates, profiles of which are continued on pages four and five.'_

Here the article cut off, and Rose paused to turn to where it was continued. Photographs of several people she recognised jumped out at her. Her uncles Harry and Percy, one of her parents' friends, Ernie MacMillan, their own Headmaster Caesar, and, with a jolt in her stomach, her own mother. Isabel and Joey were looking expectantly at her, so she continued reading:

' _Perhaps the most immediate thought in all our minds is Harry Potter. As the Saviour of the Wizarding World, Vanquisher of You-Know-Who, and Boy-Who-Lived, he would seem the most likely person to take up office. That is without even mentioning his becoming the youngest Head Auror in history at 26, revolutionising the stagnating Auror Office, and the fact that he now leads the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. However Potter has dashed our hopes by telling us under no uncertain terms that he will not pursue an election to office. Like his mentor, the late Albus Dumbledore, Potter has stated that he "has no Ministerial ambitions whatsoever, and is very happy exactly where he is, as Head Auror"._

' _So who is next? Percy Weasley has always been a possibility, with his quick rise up the ranks of the Ministry, spending time in the Minister's Office, Wizengamot Administration Offices, and the Improper Use of Magic Office. He currently heads the Department of International Magical Cooperation and is a leading member of the Wizengamot. Certainly Weasley has the experience for office, and is known to have held Ministerial ambitions in the past. However the recent serious illness of his younger daughter Lucy, is thought to take him out the race. Surely Weasley would not enter a gruelling election while his daughter is convalescent? Still, we cannot rule out Percy Weasley immediately, although in the last six months he has reportedly spent one-hundred-and-thirty-two days out of office, sending orders by owl. Not exactly the work ethic of a man who we'd want to rule over us._

' _The Weasley family certainly seems to be a clan of very successful witches and wizards - or at least married to them. Hermione Granger, thirty-eight, has certainly not kept out of politics in the last two decades. Making her mark in the Ministry at only twenty-one, when she passed landmark legislation on house-elf rights, Granger did not peak there. She has gone on to work closely with her good friend Harry Potter as a Deputy-Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, become the youngest-ever Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, and become a Senior Advisor to Shacklebolt himself. With the Minister, she is credited with removing the majority of our ancient laws that bias in favour of Purebloods, and leading a popular cultural revolution to accept Muggleborns and beings such as vampires and werewolves as equal to other Wizards. Even more impressively, Hermione Granger has managed to carry this out while retaining some popularity in the Wizarding World - the previous wizard to attempt such reforms, Augustus Cholmondeley (1856 - 1902), was eventually unable to go out in public undisguised without being hit with rotten vegetables._

 _Of course the Weasley family does not monopolise the Ministry of Magic. Ernie MacMillan, reportedly on good terms with the family, currently leads the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Although this area does not often give us Ministers for Magic - the most recent being Gerard Bletch of 1794 - MacMillan has been a generally successful and reliable member of the Ministry. He has also involved himself in all recent laws and policies of note, including his quote on house-elf rights of "I must say, one cannot deny they are quite like humans", lauded for its blatancy. Like his opponents, he is a member of the Wizengamot, where he is able to make his opinions known._

 _Of course one cannot only include members of the Ministry for Magic. Headmaster Caesar, of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, is a certain candidate for office. Behind Heads of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, former Headmasters of Hogwarts have given us the second-most Ministers for Magic. At fifty-three, Caesar can certainly claim more experience than our other candidates. He is a celebrated wizard and academic, gaining fame for his research on Gamp's Laws, on alchemic elements, and on the many uses of unicorns. Of course Caesar would have to step down from his position as Headmaster and we do not yet have confirmation of his willingness to do so - his predecessor Albus Dumbledore famously claimed to much prefer teaching - but it has been rumoured for several years that Caesar is a candidate._

 _It is clear that the field for Minister for Magic is open - what is next? Will there be debates between the candidates? The_ Daily Prophet _, we can promise, will be running a daily opinion poll on the race and page dedicated entirely to it - so watch this space! Certainly we look forward to an exciting three months. Election date: 15th December.'_

Rose looked up, her cheeks still rather pink from reading the paragraph on her own mother. Before any of them could say anything, a shout caught her attention.

'Rose! Rose!'

James, Fred, and Louis were trying to get her attention from a dozen seats away. They seemed to have nicked a newspaper off another Third Year, and were huddled together around it. 'Have you seen it?' James asked, his face alight with excitement. 'About Shacklebolt? And our parents?'

Rose nodded, looking back down at the photograph of her mother, who smiled confidently up. She was desperate to go write her a letter, to ask her about the article and the election. Was she going to become the daughter of the next Minister for Magic? She was halfway out her seat to go to the Owlery, when the bell rang for the end of breakfast.

'Quick - we're going to be late for Transfiguration!' exclaimed Isabel, jumping to her feet. With more reluctance than she'd ever felt at the idea of going to class, Rose stood up and followed her friends out the Great Hall.

At the classroom she met Albus, with his friends, and she knew that he'd seen the article, too. When their eyes met he raised an eyebrow, but she didn't want to talk about it in front of everyone. Half the class was already staring at them, whispering to each other.

She had never felt so distracted in class. Hardly a word of Professor Foxworth's lecture entered her head, and when they were supposed to start Transfiguring their lizards into sideplates, she only succeeded in making hers very flat and round. Foxworth, in an uncharacteristic mercy, did not comment on her failure.

'I'll see you after break,' she said to Joey and Isabel as they left the classroom, and before they could reply she hurried away, almost running up to the Owlery. Taking a piece of parchment out her bag, she flattened it on a windowsill of the room, balancing an inkpot beside it.

 _Mum,_ she scribbled, _I read the_ Daily Prophet _this morning - is it true? Are you going to go in for election? The article didn't say if you'd confirmed or not. What's going to happen? Hope you're well, and Dad and Hugo. There's not much to report from Hogwarts. Reply quick, lots of love, Rose._

She didn't have her own owl - having chosen a tabby kitten instead - and so used one of the school owls instead. As she rolled it up and attached it to the leg of a large barn owl, the Owlery door opened, and Scorpius Malfoy walked in.

'Oh.' He looked as surprised to see her there as she was to see him. They stared at each other. Despite basically living together for a fortnight over the summer - her family and the Potters spent so much time together - they still did not get on particularly well. Scorpius stuck his chin out a little. 'Hello.'

'Hi,' she said, picking up the owl and taking it to the window, holding out her arm so it could fly away. 'You're sending a letter?'

'No, I just enjoy hanging out here,' said Scorpius.

'No need to get sarcastic,' she said, as he tied his own letter to a handsome horned owl.

He didn't reply, but gave her a sidelong look as his owl followed hers. 'You read the _Prophet_ this morning?'

'Yes,' she said, a little exasperated. Was this going to be the only thing people said to her for the next two and a half months? 'I just wrote to my mother about it.'

The bell rang for class and she swept out the room, happy for any excuse to stop talking to Scorpius Malfoy. Everything about the boy, from his sardonic expressions to his competition with her in class to the fact that he and Albus were never apart, annoyed her.

She was going to be late for Charms, so she hurried down the staircases, thinking again of the article that morning. It wasn't as if this was the first time there'd been articles on her mother - in fact her parents, with her Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny, seemed barely able to do anything without the _Prophet_ reporting on it. But she'd never liked it, not since a reporter turned up at her fifth birthday party and had to be escorted out by her father and uncles while yelling questions at her about her presents.

But this article was different. She was only just feeling settled at Hogwarts, and now was there going to be huge upheaval over this election? And how would the Headmaster react, if he was running against her mother? If either of them won, it would be bad for her. Until now, although the Weasley family was famous, she was able to retain some anonymity and normalcy by being just 'one of the Weasleys', but now she stood out. And if the whispers of this morning were anything to go by, she wasn't going to be able to keep out of the limelight.

The reply from her mother arrived two days later, dropping onto her bacon and eggs at breakfast. She picked it up before it could get too greasy, and opened it. It was a bit longer than hers, but it looked like she'd written it in a hurry.

 _Dear Rose,_

 _Yes, I think I will run for Minister for Magic. Kingsley's been talking about stepping down for a couple of years now - we just wanted to get a few more pieces of legislation through before he did. Originally we thought Percy would go for it first, as I'm quite happy where I am really, but then everything happened with Lucy. The_ Prophet _outlined his situation quite well - expected, really, as we basically told them to stop them pursuing him about it. He's so busy with his work already. I won't outline my other intentions in a letter, so I will just confirm that I am running for office. And on that note, I know you don't like publicity much - so I'm also sorry, on that account - but I would be very grateful if you would help me with some in the next two months. Nothing much, I promise, but it looks good if some photos of all of us together get published, especially as Caesar has no family and Ernie is divorced. Voters like families._

 _We're all very well here, love you,_

 _Mum_

She folded up the letter, and pocketed it. It was good to have things explained properly, instead of through the _Prophet's_ rumour-mongering. But she still felt a little uncomfortable, especially from the bit on publicity. So was she going to be used as a pawn for her mother's political career? It didn't bode well for the future, especially if she did become Minister.

'Cheer up,' said Joey. She jumped a little, having not noticed him looking at her. 'Whatever it is, I'm sure it's not so bad, or at least not as bad as my detention with Foxworth tonight. She's probably going to do her usual of one thousand lines, and I'm worried I'll lose the use of my right hand.'

'You did swing your gerbil around by the tail _three times_ ,' said Isabel. ' _And_ forget your homework.'

Rose laughed, and for a while put the imminent events of her mother's career out her head, and enjoyed breakfast with her friends.


End file.
